A Little Distracted
by Bulma1
Summary: Kagome goes back to her time to study for a midterm, but a certain lonely hanyou decides to pay her a visit. Will Kagome be able to focus? What do you think? A nice and waffy InuyashaKagome fic. .
1. A Little Distracted

What's up everyone? It's been a while since I've written anything here on ff.net, but I thought it was about time I started something new. Damn school, taking away all of my time! *shakes her fist angrily* Well, here I am again (*off in distance*-boo!) Quiet you! Anyway, I thought that I would come back with an Inuyasha story. Who better than my favorite hanyou to get things started again? Exactly, no one! So here is some waffy goodness for all of you Inuyasha/Kagome fans.   
  
Disclaimer- I may think I own Inuyasha, but the sad truth is I don't. *sob* -_- Please don't sue me, all you'll get from me is a few dollars and my pet hermit crabs. Alright, that's about it.  
  
A Little Distracted  
  
Bored.  
  
That was the only word Inuyasha knew that adequately described how he felt when Kagome was gone to take her beloved "tests." He would never understand why those damn things were so much more important than the jewel shards. I mean, it's not like they could make her more powerful, right? The sun was shining brightly and spring was in full bloom with flowers and trees coming back to life more vibrant than ever after sleeping all winter. The sound of rushing water was soothing to the soul, and birds chirped their merry tunes for anyone who would listen. However, Inuyasha failed to see any of this.   
  
"Inuyasha!" The hanyou looked down to the ground lazily. As usual, he was perched in Goshinboku, awaiting Kagome's return to Sengoku Jidai. At first he saw no one, but was soon rudely greeted by a bonk on the head from Shippou. He grabbed the small kitsune by the tail and held him up at eye level, restraining the urge to throw him into the forest.  
  
"What the hell do you want?" He asked, annoyed at the fact that his thoughts of Kagome had been disturbed. Meanwhile, Shippou was in the air, flailing around and trying to get free. Inuyasha slowly put him down on the branch next to him.  
  
"Jeeze, no need to get mad." The fox cub pouted indignantly. "I just came to give you a message from Miroku and Sango. They went with Kaede-baba to another village to help her get rid of some demons that have been rampaging through the area. They sent me to tell you that they may take a couple of days to be back since there are so many."  
  
"Do any of them have shards?" Inuyasha asked, his interest increasing.  
  
"Umm...I don't think that they do." Answered Shippou. Inuyasha relaxed back into his regular position.  
  
"Then why did you come and bother me?" Inuyasha yawned, signaling to the small kitsune that the conversation was over. He closed his eyes just as Shippou stuck his tongue out at him and hopped out of the tree.  
  
"Fine! Be that way." Shippou yelled at the dog demon. "I'm gonna go too. I don't want to be stuck here with you. At least Kaede-baba will feed me over there if I go." He was about to leave when he decided he would add one more thing. "You know Inuyasha, you sure are moody when Kagome isn't around. Are you sure it isn't your time of the month?" Inuyasha bolted upright, ready to attack Shippou, but he was long gone, laughing and giggling all the way.  
  
"Feh! Stupid kid. I don't know why I let him hang around me." Inuyasha thought aloud. He soon remembered as Kagome's beautiful face once again made its way into his mind. 'That wench would kill me if I did anything to that little brat. Wait! Why the hell am I thinking about her anyway. She left me here with nothing to do but sit on my ass all day.' Inuyasha mentally slapped himself and forced her out of his mind. He hopped out of the tree and before he knew what had happened, he was standing in front of the well.   
  
*~*Flashback*~*  
  
"Please Inuyasha! I really have to go study. This is my midterm and if I fail this, I may never be able to pull out of that class with a decent grade. My mom will kill me if I get a fail on my report card." Kagome pleaded with Inuyasha. They had just returned from collecting a jewel shard from an insect demon in a near-by village. Inuyasha had caught Kagome sneaking off to the well, trying to leave unnoticed. She should know by now that while Inuyasha was around, escape was impossible. It was a familiar scene: Kagome was fighting with Inuyasha. She was in her green school uniform carrying her enormous backpack and Inuyasha was in his red haori, carrying his Tetsusaiga, just like always.   
  
"What?! You just came back and you're already leaving again? What the hell is this mid-ter-im anyways? And re-port car? I thought you said those 'car' things were for transportation?" Inuyasha yelled as he pronounced the unfamiliar words as best he could. Kagome tried her best to not laugh.  
  
"It's report car-D" Kagome said stressing the 'd' in the word. "It's a piece of paper that tells a parent how well their kids are doing in school. (a/n- report card *shudder*) Anyways, a midterm is a type of test, but it's a very important one."  
  
"Aha! I knew it! Another one of your 'tests.' How many of those do you have? The only reason you ever go back is for those 'tests.'" Inuyasha yelled. "Well my answer is...NO! You went back last week for one of those things, and we lost a lot of time that we could have been using to find the shards. Aren't the shards important too?" Inuyasha stared at her waiting for an answer, while all she could do was look at the ground. She hated having to leave too, but not because of the shards. Being with him was much more important to her.  
  
"Of course they are!" She finally responded. "It's just that...if I don't...take this test..." Kagome paused as she tried to compose herself. Inuyasha's keen nose stung as he caught the scent of the salty tears that were forming at the corner of her eyes. "...I...I...*sniffle*"   
  
"Alright, alright! Just don't cry wench." He hated seeing her leave, but he hated seeing her cry even more. "How many days are you going to be gone this time?" He asked, his tone much softer. Kagome immediately brightened up again and smiled at him.  
  
"Yay, thank you! Now I know I won't fail, and then Mama won't be mad at me. Hmm... how much time? Well, lets see. I've already factored in the time I'll need to get the notes, copy them, study, and any missed homework. Oh boy, that's a lot of missed homework now that I think about it. That's okay though, I could always get Eri to help me with anything that I don't understand. She takes really good notes and never leaves anything out. She also pays really close attention. I'm glad she's my friend or I'd be in trouble. Then Ayumi could-" Inuyasha stopped her short as he put a clawed finger over her mouth to silence her and keep her from rambling on. She looked up at him surprised, and then blushed. "Gomen, I guess I was talking pretty fast."  
  
"So how many days?" Inuyasha asked, trying to keep the impatience he was feeling out of his voice. He could almost feel his eye begin to twitch too...  
  
"Four days." Kagome stated simply.  
  
"Four days?!" Inuyasha cried out enraged. "Four days for a stupid 'test'!"  
  
"Inuyasha, you promised you would let me go." Kagome reminded him. "And if not, we'll get into a big argument, I'll use your 'favorite' word, and we'll be mad at each other for four days. Is that really what you want?" Inuyasha thought for a minute.  
  
"Feh. Just go then. But you better haul your ass back here as soon as you're done or you can bet I'm gonna go there and drag you back here myself." Inuyasha said sulkily, looking away and crossing his arms for effect.   
  
"Don't worry Inuyasha, four days will pass before you know it!" Kagome flung herself at him and gave him a hug before jumping into the well, leaving a very red Inuyasha standing in the middle of a bright green meadow.  
  
*~*Flashback Complete ^_^*~*  
  
'Damn that wench! It's only the second day and I'm bored already.' Inuyasha thought to himself. 'Not to mention the fact that these idiots left me alone for some lame demon hunt.' Inuyasha contemplated the well for a minute before looking up at the sky. The golden sun was already beginning to go down toward the horizon, signaling that nightfall was not too far off. 'Why the hell do I want to see her? Ahhh! She's driving me mad!' Inuyasha tried to fight himself, saying that he didn't want to go just to see her radiant face, but finally, he came up with a suitable excuse. 'Well, she should be at her house by now, and I've got nothing better to do, plus they have that delicious ramen over there.' With that lame explanation, Inuyasha jumped into the well and was off to visit his beloved Kagome.  
  
*~*Switch to Kagome*~*  
  
'Damn it! It's already 6:05 p.m. and I'm still here. I promised Souta I'd help him with his project and I still have to study and do my homework. Not to mention I have to help Mama with dinner.' Kagome silently cursed herself as she stacked her books at the counter to be checked out by the librarian. Sometimes she wondered if it wouldn't be better to simply stay in Sengoku Jidai all together where she wouldn't have to worry about grades or school. As soon as the librarian was done she ran out of the building and started to head back home.   
  
"Bye Kagome-chan!" Yelled her friends. She waved good-bye to them and rounded the corner when -WHAM! All of the books and papers Kagome was holding in her arms went flying when she smashed into someone. She closed her eyes expecting to feel the sting of the pavement on her bottom when she felt herself falling, but was stunned when a pair of hands caught her by the waist and held her firmly.  
  
"You should really watch where you're going wench." Came a gruff voice. (a/n- If you need help with this one, you're a lost cause -_-*)  
  
"Gomen na-" Kagome stopped and thought for a second. "Wench? Who are you calling..." Before she could finish her sentence, Kagome yelled as she realized a stranger was holding her in a rather awkward position. Instinct took over, and she slapped the person in question. (You can thank Miroku for that reaction ^.^)   
  
"What the hell was that for you baka?! Here I help you and you slap me? I'm never going to understand you woman!" Kagome opened her eyes and blinked a few times as she focused on the person in front of her. She was surprised to find Inuyasha standing in front of her, with a red hand print and an understandably angry look on his face. He was wearing the baseball cap he usually wore to cover his uncommon dog ears, along with his regular red haori and his sword Tetsusaiga. Kagome could only gaze at him, wondering if she was seeing things.   
  
"Inu-Inuyasha?" She asked dumbly, still not believing it was him. She blushed as she thought about the way he had held her. "Is that really you?" People were beginning to stare at the strangely dressed boy and stunned girl as Inuyasha yelled at Kagome again, snapping her once and for all out of her trance.   
  
"Of course it's me?! How many people do you know that look like me?" Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms across his chest and looking away, a hurt expression replacing the angry one. "Hmph, the thanks I get for catching you."  
  
"Gomen, Inuyasha. It's just that I thought it was a stranger grabbing me that way. I never thought it was you." Kagome said tugging at his haori and trying to get him to look her in the eyes. "I never would have slapped you if I knew it was you. Would you rather have me do nothing if a stranger grabbed me like that?" Inuyasha scrunched up his face, deep in thought.  
  
'She makes a good point.' He told himself. 'I suppose it's that lecherous houshi that makes her react that way too.' He finally looked down at her pleading eyes and felt himself melt under her gaze.  
  
"So, am I forgiven?" She asked innocently. There was no way Inuyasha could stay angry now.  
  
"Feh. Fine, just don't do it again." Inuyasha finally answered, unable to keep ignoring her without feeling awful. Kagome smiled at him and then frowned again as she finally noticed all of her things strewn about on the floor. Thankfully, there was no wind and all of her things were still in place.  
  
"Oh no! My school stuff!" She knelt down and began to collect her possessions from the floor where they were scattered.   
  
"You sure were in a hurry. What's the matter, were you being chased by a youkai?" Inuyasha teased as he helped Kagome pick up all of the papers and books she had dropped.  
  
"Very funny Inuyasha." Kagome retorted. "But, why are you here? It's only the second day, and I can't go back now. I still have to study and take my midterm. We had a deal, remember?" They finished picking everything up, and Inuyasha took all of the things Kagome had in her arms and carried them for her. A light red color spread across Kagome's face.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm not here to take you back yet." Inuyasha said, now heading back to the shrine. Kagome followed alongside of him, enjoying the moment.   
  
"Well, why are you here then?" She asked, pulling at the straps on her heavy backpack, trying to readjust them.  
  
"What?! Can't I come and visit here for a while?" Inuyasha asked, feigning injury in his voice. He grabbed the heavy bag Kagome was still struggling with and put it on his back before continuing. Kagome just stared at him, not knowing what to make of everything. That's not to say that she didn't enjoy his sudden chivalry and having him near.   
  
"Hmm..." Kagome thought aloud. "I don't know if I quite believe that..."  
  
"Fine!" Inuyasha whirled around on her. "I was bored! Everybody left me alone and I had nothing else to do, so I came." Inuyasha said, telling her his "reason" for visiting. He turned red as he remembered the real reason was to see her. Then he added quietly, "Plus, I was hungry."  
  
"Aww, did they abandon you Inuyasha?" Kagome asked sweetly. Inuyasha only turned a deeper shade of red.  
  
"Don't test me woman." He stated with as much composure as he could. Kagome only smirked at his obvious discomfort with being talked to so lovingly.  
  
"So how did you know where I was anyway?" Kagome asked, changing the subject before they got into a fight and he left.  
  
"Actually, I've been here for a while." He answered as they stopped at an intersection. "I thought you would be home, but your brother said that you were probably still at school. I waited for a while, but you were taking too long, so I decided to come and get you for myself. Of course, your Mom made me wear this absurd hat again, and I tried to remember the way to your school as best as I could." He didn't want to say that he had been following her scent.  
  
"That's right, you've been to my school a couple of times before." Kagome answered as she pulled him along the crosswalk. "How long are you going to stay?"  
  
"What, do you want me to leave already?!" Inuyasha asked indignantly. Kagome sweatdropped.  
  
"Don't get all worked up! I just wanna know what to tell my Mom. If you're going to stay for the two days we need to set an extra place and make more food." Kagome answered, calming Inuyasha down.   
  
"Feh. Well, I might as well stay. There's not going to be anything good to do back home anyway." Inuyasha answered. They arrived at the shrine and were soon up the many steps leading to Kagome's home.   
  
"Inu-oniichan! You came back!" Souta yelled as they entered the house. He was wearing jean shorts and an orange sweater. A euphoric look came over his face as he saw Inuyasha walk into the living room. He admired Inuyasha more than anyone.  
  
"What's up kid?" Inuyasha answered, setting the books and backpack down on a nearby table.  
  
"It's nice to see you too Souta." Her brother didn't even notice her. Kagome sighed. "Mom! I'm home! Oh, and Inuyasha is going to be staying for a couple of days, so we'll need to set an extra place for him."  
  
"Okay honey." Came Mrs. Higurashi's far-off reply. "Can you come in and help me with dinner please?"  
  
"But Kagome! You said you were going to help me with my project." Souta reminded Kagome.  
  
"I know Souta, but I have too many things to-" Suddenly she turned to Inuyasha. "Of course! Inuyasha, will you help Souta while I help my Mom with dinner?"  
  
"Me?! What the hell am I supposed to do?" Cried Inuyasha. "I don't even know what a 'project' is!"  
  
"That's okay Inu-oniichan! I'll tell you everything you have to do. It's not that hard once you know what you're doing." Inuyasha glared angrily at Kagome as Souta dragged him upstairs. She mouthed 'Thank You' and winked at him as he left her sight. Kagome sighed in relief.  
  
"That takes care of that." She headed into the kitchen to help her Mom.  
  
*~*Upstairs*~*  
  
"...so you just cut this with the scissors and glue them onto the poster like this." Souta finished his explanation. "It's really easy."  
  
"If it's so easy, why can't you do it by yourself?" Inuyasha asked, eyeing all of the supplies suspiciously. He was getting ready in case they came to life and decided to attack. The future had too many strange things.  
  
"Because, I have to finish 30 of these posters by tomorrow and I've only finished half of them." Answered Souta gathering the rest of the materials he needed. "All of the kids in my class need one of these posters and the teacher assigned them to me." Inuyasha just stared at him.  
  
"Sure, whatever you say kid." He picked up some of the supplies. "What did you say these things were called?"  
  
"Those are the scissors." Souta said picking up his own pair. "Careful those are-"  
  
"OUCH! What the hell?!" Inuyasha looked down at the gash he had just made with the sharp contraption. He knew these 'supplies' couldn't be trusted. But just in case, he decided he wouldn't run his finger over the shiny edge again.  
  
"-sharp." He finished. "Do you need a band-aid?" Inuyasha looked at his bleeding finger and stuck it in his mouth, sucking at the crimson blood.  
  
"Nah! That's okay. It'll stop in a minute." He answered. Inuyasha had seen enough of Kagome's first-aid kit to know what a band-aid was. He just didn't see the point of the flimsy little thing. "Let's just finish this crap before it's time to eat. I hope the food's done soon! I'm hungry." With that, Inuyasha struggled to do what Souta was teaching him to do: cut and paste. ^_^  
  
***About 45 Minutes Later***  
  
"Inuyasha, Souta, Grandpa! Dinner!" Kagome yelled from the bottom of the stairs. She heard the sound of footsteps and saw two blurs, a tall red one and a small orange one, as her brother and Inuyasha made their way to the table. Her Grandfather made his way down the stairs at a much slower pace, mumbling something about youth and impatience. By the time she got to the table, Souta and Inuyasha were already scarfing down their food. She laughed when she saw that both of them had little bits and pieces of paper glued all over their clothes.  
  
"It's so nice to have someone here that really appreciates my cooking." Mrs. Higurashi said as Inuyasha held out his plate for a second helping. She wore her hair in the same short style and was wearing an apron on top of a blue dress. As always, she was her smiling, cheerful self. It was easy to see where Kagome got her personality from.  
  
"Hey! We appreciate your cooking Mom." Kagome cried out in defense. "We just don't eat as much as Inuyasha, that's all. Anyway, he'll eat anything." Kagome mumbled the last part under her breath.  
  
"What was that dear?" Mrs. Higurashi smiled sweetly at her daughter. Kagome didn't have the heart to repeat what she had just said.  
  
"Nothing Mom." Everyone continued eating and soon Kagome found herself washing dishes. Inuyasha offered to help her dry the dishes, not because he was a nice guy (or so he told himself), but becase he didn't want to help Souta anymore. He had had enough of cutting and pasting to last any hanyou a lifetime. Plus, Souta could finish the rest alone. At least, that was his justification. After a while he found himself staring at Kagome, drying the dishes absently. He was beginning to drift off, thinking about how beautiful Kagome was. She looked so much like Kikyo, but they were so different. Kagome was sweet, caring, always thinking about others first. Kikyo was a...different story. He never realized how much he...  
  
"INUYASHA!" Finally Inuyasha snapped back to reality only to find a frustrated Kagome in front of him.  
  
"H-huh? What, what's wrong!" He finally snapped in his defense.  
  
"You've been drying that dish for the past five minutes!" Kagome yelled back. She put a hand up to his forehead, pushing his bangs aside. "Are you feeling alright? You kinda had a glazed look over your eyes." Inuyasha turned red when he remembered what he had been thinking about. He quickly pushed her hand away.  
  
"I'm fine! You worry too much woman!" He turned away hoping she hadn't seen him turn red, but no such luck. She decided to drop it...for now.  
  
"Alright. Well, I have to go study and do my homework." Kagome sighed. 'There's so much I have to do.' She thought. 'I can't even enjoy the fact that Inuyasha is here with me.' She started up the stairs and was surprised to find that Inuyasha began to follow her into her room. She turned around to look at him, shrugged, and kept going. Inuyasha took his usual place on the bed, holding his Tetsusaiga possessively. Kagome looked at him, thinking how cute he looked when he did that. ^.^  
  
"What?! Is there a problem if I sit here, or do you want me to get out of your room?" He asked, irritated that she was staring at him without saying anything.  
  
"No, no that's fine." She said shaking her head. "Just thinking, that's all. Now, you have to be quiet because I'm going to be studying for my midterm and doing my homework. No distractions, okay?" Inuyasha nodded in agreement. She sat down at her desk and looked around for her backpack. "Now where did I leave my backpack?"  
  
"You mean that thing where you keep all your scrolls?" Inuyasha asked.  
  
"Yeah...something like that." She answered, scratching her head.  
  
"I left those things downstairs." He answered. Kagome began to stand up, but a hand on her shoulder pushed her down gently. "You're useless woman. You wouldn't know where you left your head if it weren't attached to your body." He said grinning. He left the room and came back promptly carrying the huge stack of books he found downstairs and her backpack. She noticed that Buyo had followed him into the room, laying down at the foot of her bed when nobody gave him any attention.  
  
"Um...thank you." Kagome tried her best to smile as he let the books slam on her desk, lifting up a cloud of dust and making her cough. 'It's the thought that counts.' She told herself. As she shuffled through the papers and supplies, she found that he had brought a photo album by accident. "I haven't seen this in a long time." She flipped through the pictures and sighed as memories made their way back into her mind.  
  
"What is that thing?" Inuyasha asked curiously, craning his neck to investigate the unfamiliar book.  
  
"It's an old photo album." Kagome said, still flipping through the pages. "It's a place to keep pictures." She looked over her shoulder to see that he was still puzzled. "This is a picture." She pulled one of the pictures out and gave it to him to examine.  
  
"Are these people trapped in there?" He asked, still confused. Kagome giggled.  
  
"No, these are moments from the past." She said, gingerly taking the picture from his hands and replacing it with another. "It's kind of like a painting." Inuyasha examined the picture that was now in his hands. It had a young girl wearing a blue tanktop and a pair of jean shorts. She had a blue ribbon in her hair and it looked like she was holding a little fuzz ball with eyes. The girl had a bright smile and was standing in front of what Inuyasha realized was Goshinboku.  
  
"Hey, she's standing in front of the God Tree!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "She looks kind of familiar too." She looked to Kagome, and it hit him. It was her! He held the picture next to her face and smirked, as she turned red under the scrutiny.  
  
"Yeah, it's me." Kagome finally answered. "That was a long time ago." She pointed to the little fuzz ball. "Would you believe me if I told you that was Buyo?" Inuyasha squinted at the spot of white in the picture and looked over at the fat cat that was sleeping on the floor. He finally looked up at Kagome.  
  
"No." Kagome facefaulted.   
  
"It was a rhetorical question!" She sighed. Inuyasha smirked.  
  
"It's so easy to get you mad." He stated, amused with himself. He took the album and continued to look through the rest of the pictures. Kagome strained to keep control. She went over to her bed and grabbed a pillow...  
  
"Think that was funny, huh?" She asked the distracted hanyou. "Inuyasha..." He turned to face her and WHACK! He got a face full of pillow before he had any time to react.  
  
"What the hell was that!" Inuyasha yelled, looking over at Kagome. His face was contorted into an expression of surprise and anger. She was rolling around on the floor, holding her stomach and laughing.  
  
"Hahahahaha....you should...have seen...your face!" She managed to say while gasping for breath. She sat up when there was no response. "Huh? Inuyasha...where'd you go?" She looked over at the desk to find that the dog demon was no longer in sight. "Inuyasha? Did you leave? Don't be mad, it's a game!" She stepped out of the room still holding the pillow when WHAM! She turned to the side to see a certain dog hanyou smirking at her.  
  
"Thought I was gone, didn't you?" Inuyasha set Tetsusaiga aside, and after that, it was an all out pillow war. Inuyasha made sure to keep his strength in check. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt Kagome. However, there was still no way Kagome could overpower Inuyasha. She soon found out the hard way that trying to win a half demon in a pillow fight is impossible. She had to keep moving as he tried to attack her with his pillow. After a while, Buyo ran out of the room hissing and screeching at the noisy couple, and Kagome had managed to pin Inuyasha down on the floor. Her attempts to smother him with the pillow were futile and after a while she found that their positions had reversed. Inuyasha was sitting on top of Kagome, keeping only enough of his weight on her to prevent her from breaking loose.  
  
"Alright, alright! I give up!" Kagome panted. She threw her pillow to the side, but to her surprise Inuyasha kept his and smirked at his trapped prey. Her smell was intoxicating and he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep control. Their rough-housing had only made things worse. Her scent penetrated everything and it was becoming hard to keep his thoughts in order. Finally, he decided to give up. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.  
  
"Well, what if I don't want to let you go?" Kagome turned bright red and felt a chill go down her spine when he had finished saying this, but it wasn't a bad kind of chill. Kagome took her chance.   
  
"Inuyasha, what were you thinking about when we were washing dishes?" It was his turn to turn red, but instead of looking away or trying to leave, he looked her right in the eyes.  
  
"Not what, who." Kagome turned an even deeper shade of red and soon found that their faces were inching nearer and nearer. She closed her eyes as she felt his hot lips brush against her own and meet in a soft kiss. Unfortunately for Kagome, the kiss was over as soon as it had begun. She opened her eyes to find Inuyasha's amber eyes looking into her own. They weren't the same eyes she was used to seeing. They were full of emotion, perhaps even longing. She was still pinned under him, preventing any possible escape. (a/n: who'd want to escape from there? ; p) Her heart was beating so hard she was sure he could hear it. Finally, she caught her breath and spoke.   
  
"Inuyasha, I..." Inuyasha only silenced her once again by placing a finger to her lips.   
  
"No. Hear me out woman." Inuyasha said. "I've kept this in for too long, and it's been driving me insane." He sighed and began as best as he could. "Whenever you're gone, I feel like a part of me is missing. I don't want to do anything, and all I ever do is wait for your return and think about you nonstop. I don't know how many times I've denied it to myself, but I know it's true." Kagome was taken aback by his honest confession. Was this the same Inuyasha from before? It sure didn't sound like him. He went on. "You've taught me what no one else has ever been able to teach me: to trust. And, well...umm...I...what I mean to say is...umm..." Inuyasha cursed himself. 'Shit!' He thought. 'I was doing so God damn well too!' He looked pleadingly to Kagome and found that she was smiling at him.  
  
"I love you too Inuyasha." Inuyasha gave Kagome one of his rare, genuine smiles. He leaned in again, and this time he gave her a deep and passionate kiss. He was surprised when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to make their kiss more complete. When they finally separated, Kagome realized the incriminating position they were in. Inuyasha quickly realized this too, and got off of her, picking Kagome up in his arms and going over to her desk. Kagome put her head on his shoulder, and Inuyasha kissed her neck, taking in the beautiful scent that came along with it. She protested as he put her down in the chair and left her at the desk.   
  
"Now, if I remember correctly, there's a 'test' you left me for and came back to study for." Inuyasha said, a glint in his eyes. Kagome pouted at Inuyasha. "So I suggest you keep studying. After all, you don't need any distractions, and I wouldn't want to be the one responsible for distracting you."   
  
"Inuyasha, you're mean." Kagome crossed her arms and looked away from him, much like he had done on many occasions. He stood behind the chair and grinned down at Kagome, amused with her reaction. Kagome sighed defeatedly and turned back to her books. She was regretting having ever said those words when she felt him whirl her around to face him.  
  
"Then again..." He said kneeling down in front of her and taking her small hands into his clawed ones. "...distractions are good every now and then." Kagome threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She could care less about studying or about the stupid midterm at that moment. The only thing that mattered was being with Inuyasha, and she still had two days with him alone.(^_~)  
  
"I'll wake up early and do my homework. I've got more time to study for the midterm anyway." Kagome said as she sat on Inuyasha's lap. He was leaning against the bed, holding her tightly in his arms. "I just want to enjoy this moment, or else it might be a dream and I'll have to wake up soon." She could feel Inuyasha hold on to her tighter.  
  
"Believe me, this is no dream." Inuyasha said. After a while of sitting together, Inuyasha felt Kagome's body relax. He looked down and saw that she was asleep, a sweet smile on her lips. He gently brushed her bangs aside with his hands and looked at Kagome, admiring her beauty and noticing that she looked even more innocent while sleeping. He picked her up in his arms and put her on the bed, pulling the covers over her to keep her warm. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and sat back down on the floor, not wanting to give Kagome's Mom an unwelcome surprise in the morning.   
  
'It's a good thing Miroku and Sango left after all.' Inuyasha thought as he closed his eyes. 'I sure as hell needed a nice distraction too.' With that, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, with his thoughts of Kagome stronger than ever.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Well there you go! I'm not too sure if I want to continue this story or not, so give me your thoughts about it. If you do want me to continue, you could tell me what kind of things you want to see and if you want me to make it a lime, a lemon, or neither. It doesn't matter to me. I'll decide if I want to write more based on the reviews, so remember to review. ^_^ Arigatou! 


	2. Day One Together

Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. You can blame school for that. -_-* Anyway, enough readers convinced me and this story is out with chapter two! ^_^ Arigatou to all the people that reviewed chapter one. I felt so inspired that I decided to dedicate my free time to it. Don't forget to review!!  
  
A Little Distracted (Chapter 2)  
  
It was still early in the morning when Kagome woke up, yawning and grinding the sleep that still lingered out of her eyes. The events of the night before would have seemed like a dream to her if it weren't for the fact that Inuyasha was sleeping on the floor next to her bed, an almost angelic look on his face. She smiled as she remembered the tender moments they had shared the night before. He was so sweet and loving, most unlike the Inuyasha she was used to. Nevertheless, she wouldn't mind getting used to the new Inuyasha. She sighed as she looked down at his sleeping form, and then sighed even louder as she remembered the stacks of papers that remained on her desk from the night before.  
  
'One thing's for sure,' Kagome thought as she tiptoed around the sleeping hanyou, 'it was definitely worth it.' She sat at the desk and turned on the light, dilligently working on finishing her homework. Kagome was no slacker and she was willing to make up the work she should have been doing the night before, even though the sun had not yet risen and no one else was awake yet. She had been working quietly for a long time when she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her neck pulling her into a warm embrace.  
  
"What a lovely way to start my day." Came Inuyasha's husky voice as he planted a kiss on her cheek. Kagome still wasn't used to his show of affection, and she blushed when she felt his warm breath on her neck.   
  
"You must say that to all the pretty girls." Kagome said laughing. She swiveled her chair around and gave him an affectionate kiss on the lips.  
  
"I think you have me mistaken for that hentai Miroku." Inuyasha grinned at Kagome. He put his hand near her bottom, and looked at her, a devilish look in his eyes. "Unless you want me to take a page out of his book?" Kagome pushed him away playfully.  
  
"Well I've learned a thing or two from Sango-chan, so I wouldn't try it." Kagome answered, putting her hand near Inuyasha's face, acting like she was going to slap him. She leaned in and caressed his face instead. "But some things have changed, wouldn't you agree?"   
  
"Absolutely." He said, leaning in and giving her an intimate kiss. They pulled away from each other only after the both of them had run out of breath.   
  
"It's a good thing I had already finished most of my homework earlier, or I'd be in big trouble later." Kagome said turning back around in her chair to finish her work, leaving Inuyasha hungry for more affection. "I still have some things that I have to finish though." Behind her on the floor, Inuyasha pouted dejectedly and crossed his arms across his chest.  
  
"Feh! Now I REALLY hate all of that homework and school stuff." Kagome giggled and turned around in her chair again. She knelt down next to him and looked him in the eyes.  
  
"Don't be angry Inuyasha." She said smiling at him. "I promise that after the midterm, my time will be devoted only to you." Inuyasha looked at her, still pouting like a little kid.  
  
"You swear?" Now that he had Kagome for himself, he didn't want to let her go. Nothing would take his Kagome away from him.  
  
"Scout's honor." She said, holding up three fingers. Inuyasha only gave her a puzzeld look. "Oh, right. That doesn't exist in your time. Well, I swear."  
  
"Alright then." Inuyasha's sulky expression was immediately replaced with a happy one. "But you have to seal that promise with a kiss first." Kagome smiled as he nuzzled her neck. He made his way up and found her rosy lips, kissing them and enjoying the fact that they now belonged to him.  
  
'How am I supposed to concentrate?' Kagome thought as they separated. He sat down on her bed and she went on with her work, not really knowing what she was writing anymore. 'Get it together Kagome! You'll have plenty of time with him later.' She unconsciously turned red after thinking the last part and realized that she would have to make sure to do that less. She was finally able to pull herself together and finish her work. It was only a matter of time before she had to get ready for school.  
  
"Kagome, honey! It's almost time for breakfast." Her Mother called up. Kagome finished scribbling down a few things and closed her books. She was finally done! She sighed and stretched in her chair.  
  
"I'll be down in a minute Mom! I have to finish getting ready!" Kagome looked at herself in the mirror and realized that she was still wearing her school uniform from yesterday, only now it was wrinkled beyond recognition. She turned around to the bed and found that Inuyasha had fallen asleep once again.  
  
'He looks so cute when he's sleeping.' She thought as she walked over to him. 'But it's much nicer when he's awake now.' She leaned over him and was surprised when he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.  
  
"I thought I had at least taught you by now to never let your guard down woman." Kagome frowned at him. "What? What's the matter now?"  
  
"Why are you still calling me 'woman'?" She asked, still frowning at him. "Although I guess I would feel weird if you didn't call me 'woman.' But still..." She looked away from him, but Inuyasha caught her chin and turned her face back to his.  
  
"I'll try not to call you 'woman' that much anymore if it bugs you." He ran his hand through her hair. "I guess it's just out of habit. But you're right. You're my woman now and I should call you by your name." He was surprised when Kagome turned a brilliant shade of red. "Did I say something wrong?"  
  
"It's not that." Kagome turned away quickly. "It's just that you called me your woman. You've never called me that." Inuyasha let go of Kagome and sat down cross-legged on the bed.  
  
"Well, it's true Kagome." He said turning away. He didn't want her to see that he was blushing too. "You're my woman and no one's going to take you away from me." He stated simply. Kagome crawled over to him, trying to get a better look at his face.  
  
"You know, you sounded a lot like Kouga-kun right now when you said that." She giggled, but stopped when Inuyasha turned on her suddenly.  
  
"WHAT?! I don't sound like that wimpy wolf!" He yelled. "Come to think of it, I'm gonna have to do something about that asshole." He muttered under his breath, "If he says anything about you being his woman, I'll rip his throat out so he can't talk anymore." Kagome sweatdropped. Maybe she shouldn't have brought him up...  
  
"Um...well Inuyasha, we'll discuss that later." She got up from his embrace and opened the door. "Right now you have to get out so that I can change into a clean uniform." Inuyasha smirked slyly.  
  
"So what's the problem with me being here?" Kagome got flustered and turned scarlet as she figured out his implication.  
  
"Now's not the time to play around Inuyasha. I'm going to be late soon and my Mom will get suspicious if we stay up here a long time." Kagome could feel heat rise up through her body at what he was thinking. "Go downstairs, Mom should have breakfast served anyway." Inuyasha's ears twitched at the word 'breakfast' and before she had to say anything else, he was out of the room. "It's almost too easy to distract him with food." She thought aloud. She decided a quick shower before leaving would be good, and then she would get ready.  
  
~*~Downstairs~*~  
  
"Ohayou Inu-oniichan!" Souta was seated at the table, his breakfast half done. Inuyasha delicately sniffed the air around him and could feel himself drool at the different smells that were coming from the kitchen.   
  
"Hey kid." Inuyasha sat down at the table and looked around as he heard his stomach growl.   
  
"I'll be there with a bowl of ramen in a minute Inuyasha!" Kagome's Mom called from the kitchen.   
  
'How does she always know what everyone needs?' Inuyasha thought as a bowl of ramen was put before him. He drooled and picked up his chopsticks. 'Who cares!' With that, breakfast had begun.  
  
~*~Upstairs~*~   
  
"Math...science...history...I think that's it." Kagome's backpack was bulging with books and papers, and was almost as big as the one she took to Sengoku Jidai. She was wearing a crisp and clean school uniform and was ready to go downstairs for breakfast. She braced herself as she picked up the heavy backpack and headed downstairs. When she got to the table she was greeted by the sight of Inuyasha alone at the table surrounded by bowls of empty ramen piled high. Mrs. Higurashi was standing next to him smiling.  
  
"He sure does have a healthy appetite, doesn't he Kagome?" Kagome could only sweatdrop as Inuyasha continued to scarf down the instant noodles.  
  
"Sure Mom, if that's what you want to call it." She dropped her backpack on the floor and sat down at the table. Almost immediately, a plate full of pancakes, eggs, and bacon was set down before her.   
  
"Here you go honey." Kagome beamed up at her Mom as she went back into the kitchen. She often wondered how her Mom knew exactly what she needed. She poured syrup over the pancakes and was about to eat when a curious hanyou peered over at her food and sniffed at them suspiciously.  
  
"What are those things?" Inuyasha asked, still smelling the strange food.  
  
"Well, these are pancakes, these are eggs, and this is bacon." Kagome said pointing at each item respectively.   
  
"What's that crap on top of the pan-cakes?" Inuyasha asked, pronouncing the new word carefully.  
  
"It's not 'crap' it's syrup." Kagome said as she picked up a fork and put a piece of the pancake in her mouth. She swallowed and continued, "It's sweet. Here, try it." She placed another piece on the fork and put it up to his mouth. Tentatively, he opened his mouth. Kagome placed the food inside, and soon a smile spread across his lips.  
  
"Hey that was good!" He opened his mouth again as Kagome placed more food on the fork and brought it near him.  
  
"Now you know why I miss my Mom's cooking so much when I'm away." She continued breakfast this way, alternating between feeding herself and feeding Inuyasha. When she was done, she looked at her watch and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was plenty of time to get to school.  
  
"I guess it's about time to leave for school now." Kagome sighed reluctantly as she looked at what she was leaving behind. Inuyasha was still sitting at the table, looking at her with his beautiful amber eyes, a faint smirk on his face.   
  
"Alright then, I'll walk you to school." Kagome smiled and went over to hug him from behind since he was still sitting on the chair. She still couldn't get over the fact that he was hers and that he was being so nice. He turned his head and gave her a soft kiss. "You know, that syrup was sweet, but it doesn't compare to you." Kagome gave him another kiss and smiled again. She seemed to be doing a lot of smiling this morning.  
  
"That was corny, but it did the trick. Come on now, we have to get going, or I'll lose my head start." Inuyasha got up begrudgingly and headed upstairs. Whe he came back down he had his hat on and Tetsusaiga was once again by his side. He walked over, picked up Kagome's backpack, and slung it over his shoulder.  
  
"Ready?" Kagome smiled, relieved that she didn't have to carry the heavy bag.  
  
"Bye Mama! I'm going to school!" Kagome's Mom rushed out with a neatly wrapped package.  
  
"You don't intend to leave without your lunch, do you?" Kagome ran back and grabbed her lunch, giving her Mom a kiss on the cheek before leaving.  
  
"Thank you Mama!" They left the shrine, passing Kagome's Grandfather on the way. However, he didn't notice them because he was trying to get Buyo out of Goshinboku, yelling at the poor cat and telling him that the sacred tree wasn't a scratching post.  
  
"So, when are you going to be back from school?" Inuyasha asked when they had been walking for a while. They were walking hand in hand, although Inuyasha's haori covered this fact. Kagome had been enjoying the moment when Inuyasha broke her train of thought.  
  
"Well, I decided yesterday that I was going to stay after school for a while, but a lot has happened since then." She snuggled up to Inuyasha as they were walking, and he put his arm around her. She blushed when she felt some people stare at them, but she ignored them and took delight in the warm feeling inside of her. "Anyway, I'll be home right after class. Just ask my Mom to tell you when it's time for me to come home."  
  
"Fine, but you better be here when I come and pick you up. Don't be late like you usually are." Kagome pushed him away playfully and stopped suddenly. She hadn't realized that they were already at the corner where they had bumped into each other the day before. School was very close by and it was time to part from each other. She was tempted to just leave and go with Inuyasha to Sengoku Jidai and stay there together all day.  
  
'No! I have to focus and go to school. I have to catch up for my midterm.' Kagome composed herself and her thoughts. She looked into Inuyasha's amber eyes and was mesmerized by his gaze. Inuyasha was just as captivated as she was, and he hated having to be separated from her so soon after confessing his feelings to her.   
  
"Well, have a nice day at school." Inuyasha grinned at Kagome. He gave Kagome a kiss on the cheek. "Don't let those 'tests' do anything you. If they do, they have me to answer to." She sweatdropped when she remembered he still didn't know exactly what a test was. He took off the backpack he was carrying and handed it to her. Reluctantly, she took it and was reminded of the prospect of another long day of class, studying, and homework.  
  
"Don't worry." Inuyasha turned to leave when he felt a pair of slender arms wrap around him suddenly.  
  
"What's wrong?" He turned around and embraced Kagome, wrapping his arms around her protectively. He could feel her relax in his arms as she placed her head against his chest.  
  
"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to make sure that you're really mine and that I'm really yours." Inuyasha sighed and held her tighter than before. Eventually, he held her at arms length and looked her straight in the eyes.  
  
"Woman...I mean Kagome...the only thing you need to know...is that I love you." Kagome's eyes sparkled as the words she had always longed to hear came out of Inuyasha's mouth. In the distance, a bell signaling that class was going to begin soon rung.  
  
"I love you too Inuyasha." She gave him a soft kiss on the lips and returned to his embrace. "I better go now, or I'll really be late."  
  
"I'll be right here when you get out." And so they parted. Inuyasha headed back to the shrine and Kagome went to class, both looking forward to the afternoon when they would be together again.  
  
~*~Meanwhile In Sengoku Jidai~*~  
  
"HIRAIKOTSU!"  
  
Sango wiped some sweat from her brow. As usual, she was riding on Kirara and was holding her hand above her head, ready to catch Hiraikotsu as her weapon made its way back. They had been fighting youkai since early in the morning, and she was beginning to feel tired. It wasn't because the demons were difficult to exterminate, it was because they hadn't had any breakfast and very little sleep the night before. Patrolling for demons was more exhausting than she remembered.  
  
"These people weren't kidding when they said they had a demon infestation Kirara." Sango sighed as she sent some demons to the ground in pieces. From where she was, she could see that Miroku was also getting tired of using his Kazaana. Shippou and Kaede had stayed in the village making breakfast. That was hours ago.  
  
"Sango, are there any more demons coming in our direction?" Miroku called up to Sango, sealing his wind tunnel as the last of the demons disappeared into the black hole. Sango scanned the area. All that she could see were the severed remains of the demons she had disposed of with Kirara.  
  
"Everything looks clear from here Houshi-sama." Sango landed next to Miroku and Kirara returned to her small form. "I say it's about time we got back to Kaede-sama. She might be worried about us, and we haven't had anything to eat." Kirara mewed at Sango in approval and bounded away towards the village.  
  
"Looks like you're not the only one that's hungry." Miroku answered, smiling at her. He grabbed his staff and started to walk away when Sango cried out behind him. He stopped immediately and turned to her. Sango was sitting on the grass, clutching her left ankle. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"  
  
"I-It's nothing really. A little while ago my foot got caught on the roots of some tree. I fell down and hurt my ankle, but Kirara carried me around on her back, so I didn't feel anything." Sango replied rubbing her ankle, trying to make the pain go away to no avail. "It's okay, I can walk."  
  
"Is that so?" Miroku eyed the taijiya suspiciously, but decided to play along anyway. He helped her to her feet, and almost immediately she was down on the ground again. Her face was contorted in pain and she looked angry with herself.  
  
"Dammit! I'm a demon hunter! I should be able to take this pain!" She silently cursed herself and looked down at the ground ashamed at what she thought was weakness. "And now Kirara's gone back to the village and I can't ride on her."  
  
"Well you know...I'm still here. I can help you get back to the village." Miroku said, giving Sango a genuine smile. The demon hunter merely eyed him apprehensively. "What's wrong, don't you trust me?" Miroku sighed and sweatdropped as Sango continued to look at him suspiciously.  
  
"I guess you are the only one here." Sango answered, a look of resignation on her face. "But I'm warning you Houshi-sama, you better not try anything funny on the way to the village."  
  
"Alright fine. If it'll make you feel better I promise I won't do anything to you on the way to the village, although I can't imagine what you're trying to insinuate." Sango gave him a skeptical look, and before she could say anything Miroku was kneeling down in front of her. She still didn't trust him, but she had no choice. She knew she couldn't make it on her own back to the village. Soon they were on their way, Miroku carrying Sango on his back in the same manner Inuyasha carried Kagome.   
  
'This is kind of nice.' Sango thought as they passed through the trees in the forest. 'No wonder Kagome-chan likes traveling with Inuyasha.' She was distracted with her thoughts when she remembered she should be keeping an eye on Miroku's wandering hands. However, she was surprised to find that his hands were exactly where they had been before. One of them was holding onto the bottom of her leg to help keep her on his back and the other one was holding his staff as they walked along.  
  
"Are you comfortable?" Miroku asked when he felt his 'passenger' stir on his back.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. I'm fine Houshi-sama." Sango was ashamed that she had been suspicious about him when he had promised to do nothing perverted to her.  
  
"Isn't this weather nice?" Miroku motioned to his surroundings with his staff. "All of these trees and flowers make the forest look so alive. It's amazing what a change in season's can produce. Just a short time ago this forest looked barren and devoid of life."  
  
"Yes, it is very beautiful." Sango breathed in the fresh air. 'He's not acting like himself.' She thought as she observed him quietly. 'Maybe he got knocked around on the head by some demons.' She saw his expression change into a sad one.  
  
"We're in such a hurry sometimes looking for the shards and trying to hunt down Naraku that I hardly ever notice it anymore." Miroku sighed softly, lost in his thoughts.  
  
'Poor Houshi-sama. He must be thinking about the Kazaana and how it'll swallow him up if we don't kill Naraku.' A picture of her brother appeared in her mind. 'If we don't stop Naraku, he'll destroy everyone.' Unconsciously, Sango's arms tightened around Miroku's neck and she put her head down on his shoulder. Miroku's thoughts were interrupted and a slight blush crept on his face. Her action was so tender that it took him by surprise.  
  
'Sango has never done something like this before. She hardly ever displays her affections openly to me.' The hand that was placed on her leg began to creep up, but he forced it to stay in its place. 'No, I can't! I promised I wouldn't do anything. I...must...be...strong!' As Miroku struggled with himself internally, the village came into sight. Shippou and Kirara came running out as soon as they caught sight of them.  
  
"Miroku! Sango! You're finally back!" The small kitsune yelled out, delighted with the arrival of his two friends. Sango's head popped up at the sound of her name and she smiled when she saw the welcoming party come rushing towards them. "What's wrong Sango? Why is Miroku carrying you?"   
  
"I hurt my foot, that's all Shippou-chan." Kirara hopped onto Miroku's head and made her way to Sango, snuggling into her shoulder. "I'm okay though, Miroku carried me all the way back." When she heard this, Kirara nuzzled against Miroku's cheek in a sign of thanks.  
  
"It's okay Kirara. It was nothing." He tried to pet the small youkai as best as he could. "Now you two hurry on ahead and tell Kaede-sama to start heating up breakfast...or I guess it's lunch by now." The small pair ran off ahead as Miroku and Sango made their way through the village.  
  
"Umm...Houshi-sama?" Miroku turned his head toward Sango, giving her his full attention. "Well...umm...I just wanted to say thank you for carrying me here and for keeping your promise." They arrived in front of the hut they were staying at, and Miroku kneeled on the floor, carefully placing Sango down on the ground.   
  
"Don't mention it Sango." He offered his hand and helped her up, making sure that she stayed off of her bad ankle. Sango began to pat the dust off of her outfit when she felt another hand 'help' her in her task. Instinctively, she slapped Miroku across the face. The sound echoed throughout the village and the red handprint was clearly marked on the Houshi's face.  
  
"I was only trying to help." He offered lamely in his defense.  
  
"And here I was beginning to believe you were going to keep your promise!" Sango yelled as she tried to balance herself on one foot. Miroku reached out and caught her before she fell back to the ground.  
  
"Well, technically I did keep my promise." He stated as he helped her stand . "You said no funny business on the way to the village. We're already here, so I did keep my promise." Sango sighed and then blushed as Miroku put his arm around her and helped her walk.  
  
'I guess hoping he really had changed was too much to ask for.' Sango thought as they entered the door. A gentle pat on the bottom and another slap across the face to match the other side brought her back to reality. 'Nope, same old Houshi-sama.'   
  
~*~Back to Kagome's Time~*~  
  
"Is it time for Kagome to come home yet?" Inuyasha asked Mrs. Higurashi for the tenth time that hour. It seemed that time was mocking him on purpose and was going much slower than usual.  
  
"Not yet, almost." Mrs. Higurashi said smiling like usual. She was watching a soap opera on TV and hardly noticed that Inuyasha had asked her the same question repeatedly throughout the day...although she did know why he asked her the same thing. Her Mother's Intuition was very strong and she could sense love was in the air.  
  
"Feh. Just don't forget to tell me when it's time for her to leave school." Inuyasha had been impatient most of the day. The only time he forgot about how long he had to wait was when lunch time came around. Kagome's Mom made the best food, and it was more than enough to keep his mind off of Kagome for a while.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't forget." Suddenly, she had an idea. She got up and picked up a clock that was sitting on top of the TV. "You see this?"  
  
"Yeah, what is it?" Inuyasha poked at the clock and was about to push a switch when Mrs. Higurashi got it safely out of reach.  
  
"It's a clock. It's a way to tell how much time has passed." She pointed to the hands on the clock. "When this long hand..."  
  
"That's not a hand." Inuyasha interjected. "This is a hand." He held up his own hand, but Mrs. Higurashi continued unfazed.  
  
"Alright then. When this long stick-like thing touches here," she pointed to the 12, "and when the little...umm...stick points here," she signaled to the 3, "Kagome will be out of class."  
  
"Really?!" Inuyasha grabbed the clock and observed it. "So this thing knows when Kagome leaves school? Wow!" Inuyasha perched the small clock next to him and watched as the minutes ticked away, ready to see his Kagome again.  
  
~*~In School~*~  
  
*Ring!*  
  
'Finally! It's time for the last class today! I thought this day would go on forever!' Kagome picked up her things and left the classroom, rushing out before Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi could stop her.  
  
"There's something weird about her today." Yuka said as they walked a short distance behind Kagome in the hall. In front of them, it looked like Kagome was walking on a cloud. Her eyes were glossy and she had a smile on her face that wouldn't go away.  
  
"I wonder, does this has anything to do with that jealous and violent boyfriend of hers?" Ayumi added.   
  
"It doesn't matter. I think it's great that she's happy and in love!" Eri sighed when she said the word 'love.'   
  
"Well I think we should find out. Come on girls." Yuka dragged the other two girls with her and they caught up to Kagome.  
  
"Hey Kagome-chan! How are you?" Ayumi asked as nonchalantly as she could.   
  
"Hmm? Oh, hey guys! What's up?" Kagome had been jolted out of her thoughts and was surprised to find the three girls next to her.  
  
"Well, we want to know-" Yuka began, but was interrupted by Eri.  
  
"Did something happen with that two-timing, jealous, and violent boyfriend of yours?! You look so happy today!" The other two girls sweatdropped. So much for tact. Kagome stopped and turned red.  
  
'Am I really acting differently? It's true though, I haven't been able to concentrate properly all day.' When Kagome left her thoughts she found herself surrounded by three very expectant girls that wanted an answer.  
  
"Come on Kagome-chan! You have to tell us what's going on!" Her three friends pleaded at the same time. Kagome sighed.  
  
"Everything's fine. Nothing has happened really." Kagome said. 'Except that he's all mine now.' She thought and smiled to herself. She walked away leaving her three friends very confused.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuka asked when Kagome was a good distance away. "And what was that smile all about?"  
  
"Kagome-chan! Get back here!" The three girls ran after Kagome and soon the bell had rung. School was almost over.  
  
~*~At the Shrine~*~  
  
"Hahaha! Stupid cat." Inuyasha had decided to bug Buyo until it was time to go get Kagome. He had found a piece of string and was dangling it in front of the lazy cat, pulling it away every time he tried to swipe at it. He turned to look at the clock and was happy to see that the two 'sticks' were almost at the proper place.  
  
"I'm home!" Inuyasha turned to see Souta walk into the house and put his backpack down. "Hi Inu-oniichan!" The small boy rushed into the living room and sat next to Inuyasha. "Are you waiting for Kagome to get out of school?"  
  
"Yeah, that's right." Inuyasha peered over at the clock, dismayed to see that it had hardly moved. They sat in silence for a while until Souta decided to speak up.  
  
"So...you must really care about my sister." Souta stated as he pet Buyo. Inuyasha turned red.  
  
"What makes you say that?!" He said crossing his arms across his chest. 'How the hell does this kid know this stuff.' He thought, trying to make the red color leave his face.  
  
"I don't know. It's just that you always come and get her if she's late, you protect her, and...well...I just think you do. I think you've liked her for a while now." Souta finished.  
  
"Feh." Was all Inuyasha could answer in his defense, too stunned that a kid could sum up his feelings so simply. He stayed silent for a while and then looked over at the clock. It was time to pick up Kagome! "See ya kid." He got up, found his hat, and was on his way.  
  
"Inuyasha!" Mrs. Higurashi called walking into the living room. She was surprised to find Souta there alone with Buyo. Inuyasha had already left. She sighed. "I forgot what love can do to a person."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean Mom?" Souta asked, confused by the cryptic comment.  
  
"You'll know in time Souta."  
  
~*~Back to Kagome~*~  
  
"Tomorrow is the midterm class! Dont forget! We're doing it differently this year and all of the classes will give the midterm to their students tomorrow." The teacher finished just as the bell rang. "Please study!" She called out as everyone left the class.  
  
"Finally! School was unbearable today." Kagome picked up her backpack and left the room. She was walking down the hall when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.  
  
"Higurashi-san! I'm so glad to see that you're over that nasty stomach flu." Kagome sighed when she turned around and found herself face to face with Hojo. She was glad that her Grandfather had managed to invent a believable sickness, but she wanted to see Inuyasha.  
  
"Oh, Hojo-kun. How are you?" Kagome checked her watch, eager to leave.  
  
"Here, I brought you this." He handed her a rabbit's foot keychain. "I decided you might need a little luck to not get sick and to do well on the midterms tomorrow."   
  
"Oh, arigatou Hojo-kun." She took the furry object and placed it in her backpack. "Well, I have to get going now. I have to umm...help my little brother. Bye!" She ran off before he could say anything else.  
  
"Ja ne Higurashi-san! See you tomorrow!" Hojo called after her, smiling more than ever.  
  
'I forgot all about Hojo-kun. I'll have to tell him about Inuyasha later. I feel bad about leaving him like that, but I don't want to be late.' She thought as she made her way to their meeting place. When she arrived, she was disappointed to find that he wasn't there yet. 'And here I hurried for nothing.' She turned around to look back and check that she was in the right place. She looked up when she heard the leaves of a tree next to her rustle, but dismissed it for a bird. Finally, she turned back around and was startled to find herself nose to nose with someone. She did the first thing that came to her mind: scream.  
  
"What?! What did I do?!" Inuyasha yelled over the screaming. He was covering his sensitive ears and Kagome stopped, finally realizing that it was Inuyasha.  
  
"Inuyasha you baka! Why did you scare me like that for? One second you're not here and the next I'm face to face with you! I didn't even hear you or see you coming!" Kagome clutched at her chest trying to calm her erratic heartbeat.  
  
"You know, this is the second time you give me a horrible greeting after school." He pouted at her. "And you didn't hear me because I was waiting up in the tree. I got here early and some weird old ladies were staring at me and saying that they liked my....what was that word? Oh yeah, I think it was cos-tume." Kagome giggled.  
  
"Well, when you're in my time, you're the one that's dressed weird and not the other way around. People here aren't used to your clothes, but I like you just the way you are." She gave him a kiss and they left, walking hand in hand.  
  
"Are we going back through the well tomorrow?" Inuyasha asked, once again carrying her backpack for her.  
  
"We probably should. Sango-chan and Miroku-sama might worry if I don't come back on time. Plus, I'm pretty sure you didn't tell anyone you would be here."  
  
"Feh. Like I care if they know where I am or not." Inside, Inuyasha knew he didn't like troubling his friends.   
  
"Uh-huh, sure." Kagome teased. They walked home and Inuyasha was dismayed when Kagome began to do her homework right away. He spent a while watching TV with Souta (who kindly explained why the people in the 'box' were so small) and after a while dinnertime had come. The hours didn't seem so long for Inuyasha anymore because he had Kagome nearby. Anytime he wanted to, he would turn around and look at her pretty face. After dinner, they went up to her room to finish out the day.  
  
"Do you still have homework to do?" Inuyasha asked, knowing what the answer would be.  
  
"Yes, but at least I don't have to study too. By doing all of the homework I have to make up I'm reviewing what's going to be on the midterms." Kagome replied ecstatically. "I'll pass my classes for sure this way."  
  
"Oh." Was all Inuyasha could reply. He knew she had promised to dedicate more time to him after the stupid midterm, but he couldn't help but feel a little bummed out. Kagome sensed this and went over to where he was sitting on her bed.  
  
"I could take a little break. It's not good to study all the time without stopping. You start to forget things." She said snuggling into his lap. "I would never want to forget anything." He held her in his arms, thankful that she always noticed how he was feeling. They sat together on the bed and kissed for a while, taking in and appreciating each others presence fully. They had stopped for a while when they heard a creak and the door swung open.   
  
"I knew it! I knew you liked her!" Souta was standing there holding Buyo. Both Kagome and Inuyasha froze where they were and turned bright red. "So are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend for real now? That's so cool." Kagome scrambled out of Inuyasha's lap and ran to the door.  
  
"You little monster! Haven't you ever heard of knocking before?!" Souta ran out the door as his angry sister charged at him, a pillow in her hand. She threw the pillow at him, hitting him in the head and knocking Buyo out of his arms. "Don't ever come into my room again without letting me know!" She yelled and slammed the door shut. She leaned against the closed door, panting and trying to get the red out of her cheeks. When she turned to look at Inuyasha he was looking out of the window, a red tint in his cheeks as well.  
  
"Do you think he'll tell your Mom?" He asked sheepishly, a tone of voice he rarely used.  
  
"For some reason, I think she already knows. Didn't you notice how she kept looking at us during dinner?" Inuyasha thought back to dinner, but all he could remember was all the delicious food.  
  
"It's not like we're trying to hide anything anyway." Kagome sighed and crawled back into Inuyasha's lap. "I don't care who knows that I love you." They continued like this for a while until it was time for Kagome to go back to her work.  
  
'Just one more day and she's all mine.' Inuyasha thought as he saw her working away. He closed his eyes and fell asleep on her bed. He felt so relaxed that it was one of the few times that he slept so deeply. He didn't even notice when Kagome slipped a blanket over him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
  
'Just like I found him this morning.' She thought to herself amused. 'Asleep.' She stretched and decided to change into her pajamas. It was late and her midterms awaited her tomorrow first thing in the morning. She put a sleeping bag on the floor and fell asleep. As dreams began to overtake her she muttered:  
  
"Goodnight, my Inuyasha."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
That's chapter 2! Remember to review. If I get a nice response again like last time, I'll continue it. If not, well...I'll decide what to do with it later. Ja ne! 


	3. Final Tests and Rain Delays

Wow! *Has stars in her eyes* Everyone's reviews were so nice! Arigatou to everyone who's reviewed so far. This story is continuing this for all of you. ^_^ Well, due to popular demand, here is chapter 3 to my story. I'm REALLY sorry about the wait. School sure is a major time consumer. Enjoy!  
  
A Little Distracted (Chapter 3)  
  
"Hurry up Kagome! You're going to be late!" Kagome was rushing frantically around her room desperately looking for all of her school materials. She had gotten up a little later than usual and began to panic as soon as she saw what time it was. Her Mom's reminder only made things worse as she rumaged through piles of papers, blankets, and drawers in an effort to locate the misplaced supplies.  
  
"I'll be down in a minute, just hold on!" Kagome yelled in reply. Inuyasha was nowhere in sight due to the fact that he had retreated downstairs earlier in an effort to avoid being caught in her path of destruction. He knew that it wasn't the time to be affectionate and that any attempts to distract her would earn him a very painful 'Osuwari.' Finally, Kagome emerged from her closet triumphantly holding a large textbook in one hand and a thick notebook in the other. She shoved the book and the folder in her backpack and ran downstairs, barely missing Buyo on the way down.  
  
"Honey, aren't you going to have any breakfast?" Mrs. Higurashi called out as Kagome ran into the living room to pick up some pens and pencils she had left there the night before. Souta had already left for school and Inuyasha was quietly sitting at the kitchen table observing the scene before him.   
  
"I can't Mama! I promised the girls I'd meet up with them before class for some last minute studying. If I don't show up they're going to be mad." She ran into the kitchen and grabbed a few cookies, shoving them in her mouth as she grabbed her lunch. She was so busy scrambling around that she tripped over Buyo's food bowl and would have fallen if Inuyasha hadn't been there to catch her. (a/n: Isn't that convenient? ^_~)   
  
"What would you do without me?" Inuyasha teased as he set Kagome upright.   
  
"Have a lot of extra ramen to eat." Kagome answered as she caught sight of the empty bowls that had been his breakfast. She giggled as he scrunched up his face at her unexpected answer. "Well, I guess I would be pretty sad and lonely too." She gave him a reassuring kiss on the lips and then ran off into the living room to pick up some books, much to his dismay.  
  
"You have that 'test' today and that's it, right?" Inuyasha asked as he walked her down the shrine stairs. She had already asked him earlier to stay at the shrine instead of walking her to school because she didn't want Ayumi, Yuka, and Eri to start making up stories. She couldn't deal with awkward questions right before the midterms.  
  
"That's right. After today I'm all yours." Kagome smiled as she saw his mood brighten. 'Until the next test.' She thought and sighed. It was best not to bring that up at the moment. They reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to face each other.  
  
"I'll be waiting for you after school, just like yesterday." He said as she sunk into his strong embrace.  
  
'Now I know what Shakespeare meant when he said that 'Parting is such sweet sorrow.' Kagome thought as she stood there in Inuyasha's arms. She wanted time to stand still, but she knew that wouldn't happen. As much as she enjoyed the moment, it was time to go. "Don't worry Inuyasha, it'll be afternoon before we know it."  
  
"I know." He let go of her and planted a sweet kiss on her lips. "Good luck." He stood silently in the shade of the trees as she walked away. She had reached the end of the block and when she turned to look he was still there, the wind softly playing with his hair. She smiled and waved at him, running off when she realized that she had lingered there too long.  
  
'I just have to get through today.' Kagome thought as she ran to school. 'Too bad that's easier said than done.' She made her way into the classroom and found that her three friends were already busy studying. Everyone was very tense, and Kagome  
wished she could leave and not go through the pressure of another test.   
  
"Come on Kagome! What are you waiting for?" Eri yelled as she caught sight of Kagome standing in the doorway. "I heard someone say that all of chapter 20 was going to be on the midterm! Let's go." Kagome felt herself dragged to her desk and soon her day was underway.  
  
Back at the shrine, Inuyasha had already made his way back into the house. He had found Buyo along the way and was making the time pass by torturing him like usual.  
  
"Inuyasha, did Kagome leave to school already?" Kagome's Mom called from upstairs.  
  
"Yes." Inuyasha replied, unable to keep the sulkiness out of his voice. "Why, what's wrong?" Kagome's Mom came downstairs holding a small, black, rectangular object, a concerned look on her face.  
  
"Well you see, she left her calculator here and I'm pretty sure she needed it for her math midterm today." She answered motioning to the small rectangle. "She doesn't have that class until after lunch though, so I guess I can take it then." Inuyasha stared at the small device.  
  
"If she really needs it, just tell me and I'll go take it to her." Inuyasha said, turning his attention back to Buyo.  
  
"Really Inuyasha? That would be a big help." Kagome's Mom beamed at Inuyasha. "I'm sure Kagome will really appreciate this too."  
  
"Feh."  
  
~*~ Hours Later At School~*~  
  
*RING!*   
  
Everyone piled out of the classrooms as the lunch bell rang. Kagome sighed as she was pushed out the door, her friends close behind.  
  
"That history midterm was harder than I thought it would be!" Ayumi yelled over the noisy people surrounding their small group.  
  
"Hopefully the math midterm will go better." Yuka said as she rummaged through her backpack. "I even brought my lucky calculator to make sure that nothing goes wrong!" The other three girls had to shield their eyes as Yuka brought a hot pink calculator with neon yellow fuzzballs out of her backpack. "Cool, huh?"  
  
"Umm...it's nice." Kagome said trying to keep a straight face. "I decided to bring something a little more practical." Kagome searched through her backpack trying to find her handy dandy graphing calculator. She began to panic when she couldn't find it.  
  
"What's wrong Kagome?" Eri asked with concern as Kagome began to dump everything out of her backpack.  
  
"Ahh! I think I forgot my calculator at home!" Kagome searched once again through all of her possessions and sighed defeatedly as she produced nothing from the pile.  
  
"That's too bad." Ayumi said as she looked at a sulking Kagome. "I'm pretty sure our teacher said he wouldn't have any calculators to lend." Kagome was now on the verge of tears as she realized the hopelessness of her situation.  
  
"Umm...well, we better go get our lunch before the bell rings." Yuka said dragging the other girls away from Kagome. "Let's go before she blows up." She whispered to them urgently and the three girls retreated from Kagome as quickly as they could.   
  
"I can't believe I forgot something so important!" Kagome was sitting on the floor and was on the verge of tears when she heard a rustle from the tree next to her. A few leaves fell down, but when she looked up she didn't see anything. She was putting all of her things back in her bag when she heard a faint whisper.  
  
"Psst! Kagome!" Kagome looked around, unsure of where the voice had come from.  
  
"I must be going crazy." She said aloud. "I'm starting to hear voices." She stood up and hoisted her backpack on her shoulders.  
  
"No you're not." Kagome froze in place as the voice answered her. "Up here." Kagome looked up to the familiar sight of the red haori clad hanyou in the tree.  
  
"Inuyasha!" She took a step back as her brain processed the sight before her. "What are you doing here at school?"  
  
"Whatever happened to 'hello'?" Inuyasha asked, a sullen expression on his face.  
  
"I'm sorry Inuyasha. I didn't mean it in a bad way. You just surprised me, that's all." Kagome answered. She looked around and noticed that some people were starting to stare at her suspiciously. "Inuyasha, meet me on the roof. I can't talk openly here." A rustle from the trees signaled to Kagome that Inuyasha was gone. She smiled sheepishly at the students that were staring at her and ran into the building. She made her way up the stairs and found that Inuyasha was already waiting for her.  
  
"You're lucky your Mom loves you almost as much as I do." Inuyasha said as he handed Kagome the calculator she was looking for.   
  
"My calculator!" Kagome rushed forward and got the precious device out of his hands. "You came all the way over here to bring it to me?" Kagome asked, tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
"Of course. Why else would I be standing here in front of you?" Inuyasha stated crossing his arms across his chest. He looked over at Kagome and realized that her eyes were all wet and glossy. "Oi! What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" He uncrossed his arms and looked at her, unsure of what to do.  
  
"You're so sweet Inuyasha!" Kagome threw herself into the arms of the confused hanyou and buried herself in his red haori. "I can't believe you did this just for me." Inuyasha's face softened and he wrapped his arms tightly around her.  
  
"Of course I did this just for you. I love you." Kagome sighed as the three words she loved to hear the most came out of his mouth efortlessly. "Not to mention your Mom said you would probably share your lunch with me."  
  
"Eh?" Kagome broke their embrace and found that Inuyasha was grinning at her.  
  
"That trip made me pretty hungry you know." Kagome sighed again, but this time in disbelief.  
  
"I forget that you still have a lot to learn about what to say." Kagome hugged Inuyasha again. "But I love you just the way you are anyway." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and sat down on the cement.  
  
"What are you doing?" Inuyasha sat down next to her curiously as she searched through her backpack again.  
  
"What do you think?" She asked as she brought out her neatly wrapped lunch.  
  
"I didn't think it was possible, but now I love you even more than before." Inuyasha planted a kiss on Kagome's forehead and began to pig out as soon as Kagome was done unwrapping the lunch. He gulped down some sushi rolls and turned to Kagome.  
  
"So how much longer are you going to stay here?" He asked as he sampled some more of her lunch.  
  
"Not that long actually. All I need is my math test and then there's a break and all of the teachers post the test scores before the end of the day." Kagome explained. Inuyasha gave her a blank stare.  
  
"Uh...huh. Okay, well do you think I could stay here until school is over?" He asked hopefully. He put an arm around her. "I could be nearby and walk you home when everything is done."  
  
"Is that supposed to be a bonus?" Kagome teased. A light kiss on the lips assured Inuyasha that she was only joking. "You can stay on one condition."  
  
"That would be..." Inuyasha asked warily.  
  
"You CAN'T come out of hiding. If anyone sees you they might freak out because of these." She reached up and rubbed the two small white ears on the top of his head.  
  
"Mmmm. That feels good." Inuyasha said closing his eyes happily. Kagome stopped and looked at him, her arms crossed over her chest angrily.  
  
"You know, that's not what you used to say." She glared at him.  
  
"I know." He gave her a boyish grin. "I lied. If I had told you that I loved it everytime you did that, you wouldn't have done it anymore." Kagome uncrossed her arms.  
  
"That's a good point." She said. "But it was still a rotten thing to do." Inuyasha was about to defend himself when a well-timed bell interrupted him. "That's the end of lunch!" She said getting up suddenly. She left the rest of the food for him to eat and picked up her backpack.  
  
"How do I know when school is over?" Inuyasha asked trying to get Kagome to stop rushing around.  
  
"Umm...well when a bell rings and everyone starts leaving these doors." Kagome motioned to the front gate. "That means that school is out. In the meanwhile, you can sit in that tree over there." This time she motioned to a tall oak tree next to a window. "From there you'll be able to see me in my math class. I'll see you after school." She gave him a kiss and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped. "Remember, don't let anyone see you!" With that she ran off.  
  
"Oi! Who does she think she is?" Inuyasha asked no one in particular. He stuffed another sushi roll in his mouth when he remembered. 'That's right, she's my woman.' He thought to himself. 'Bossy woman.' Meanwhile, Kagome rushed to get to her next class and her final midterm. She made it to her seat just as the bell rang.  
  
"There you are Kagome! Where did you go at lunch?" Eri asked while Kagome tried to catch her breath.  
  
"Umm...well...I tried to find someone who would lend me their calculator." Kagome lied as she spotted the pink atrocity of a calculator on Yuka's desk.  
  
"Did you find one?" Kagome nodded as she held up her own calculator triumphantly.  
  
"Did Hojo-kun let you borrow it?" Ayumi asked, nudging Kagome. Kagome froze. She had forgotten all about Hojo. It wouldn't be a good thing if Inuyasha saw her with him.  
  
"Umm...no. It was another girl that I know." She glanced out of the window momentarily as she saw a red streak out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"Alright students! Enough chit chat, it's time to start the midterm." Kagome was happy when the teacher interrupted her conversation to start the test. She looked out the window again while the teacher was passing out the test forms and saw a pair of amber eyes staring at her through the tree leaves. She smiled and turned her attention back to her desk when her test was in front of her.  
  
'One last test to go.' Kagome braced herself and began to work on the days final midterm.  
  
~*~Sengoku Jidai~*~  
  
"How about here?" Kaede asked pressing an area near Sango's ankle. A cry from Sango signaled to the old woman that it would take a while longer for her injury to fully heal.  
  
"I can't believe this still hurts!" Sango said wrapping her foot back in the bandage that Kaede had made.  
  
"It's no use. I don't have the necessary herbs here to help you. Your ankle won't be able to properly heal until I have all the proper supplies. You'll have to wait until we get back to the village." Sango sighed. She was happy that she had Kirara to carry her or else it would be a very painful trip home.  
  
"When do we leave?" Sango asked, leaning against the wall of the cabin they were staying in.  
  
"As soon as Miroku comes back. He went out with Shippou and Kirara to take care of some of the last demons. He's also going to put up some demon charms to keep them from coming back." Kaede shuffled around the cabin packing some of the final things they needed for their trip back.   
  
"The sooner the better." Sango replied. "I can't stand sitting around here doing nothing all day. I need to be active." She closed her eyes for a while when a familiar 'mew' woke her up. "Hi there Kirara. Did you have a good time?"  
  
"Mew!" Came the happy reply. She settled herself in Sango's lap and soon Miroku and Shippou made their way into the hut, both sweating quite a bit.  
  
"What happened to you two?" Sango asked as they both sat down and immediately went for some water.  
  
"We had to do a bit of running." Miroku finally said after he had his fill of water. Shippou went thirstily for the small bottle and drank deeply.  
  
"Were the monsters really that bad?" Sango asked, concern in her eyes.  
  
"Well...not exactly." Miroku said, a curious look in his eyes. Shippou finished drinking and wiped some of the water that had trickled out of his mouth with his sleeve.  
  
"Actually, we had to run from some angry guy. Miroku was hitting on one of the village girls and her father came out and-" Shippou was cut short by a quick hit in the head from Miroku's staff. He fell to the floor clutching his head in pain while Sango's face turned red with anger and she looked away from the tired pair.  
  
"That's quite enough from you." Shippou was holding his head, a large lump beginning to form in the area where he had been hit.  
  
"Why am I not surprised." Sango remarked sadly while petting Kirara.  
  
"It's not like that Sango, I swear!" Miroku laughed cautiously. Shippou just glared at him.  
  
"Come on Kirara. Let's go find Kaede-baba so that we can go home." The two small Youkai made their way out of the hut, leaving an angry Sango with a very guilty-looking Miroku.  
  
"How is your ankle, Sango?" The monk finally asked, breaking the awkward silence. He started to walk towards her, and Sango stared at him icily.  
  
"Don't come any nearer you perverted Houshi." She said backing away slightly. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you." Miroku sighed.  
  
"So, are you feeling any better?" Miroku repeated.  
  
"It still hurts." Sango stated simply. "Not that you really care." She added coldly. Miroku looked taken aback by her comment, much to Sango's surprise. He sat down where he was standing and stared down at the floor.  
  
"You may say what you want about me Sango..." He turned his head in her direction, a hurt look in his eyes. "...but I do care about you."  
  
"Houshi-sama, I..." Sango didn't know what to say. She had never seen Miroku give her a look like that before. She felt awful about what she had just said.  
  
"It's okay Sango, don't worry about it." Miroku said standing up and smiling at her, his sad mood passing away as quickly as it had come. "I just don't want you to ever forget that." Sango smiled at him and nodded.  
  
"I promise Houshi-sama." She turned towards the door as Kaede pulled aside the curtain.  
  
"Well, it looks like we're ready to go now." She walked in followed by Kirara and Shippou. Kirara transformed and Kaede placed a large bag that held all of their belonging on her back. "Oh, I forgot that you have to carry Sango back now."  
  
"It's okay, Kaede-sama. I'll carry Sango." Miroku offered. "You take Hiraikotsu and ride on Kirara, just like when we came." Kirara growled suspiciously, but one reassuring pat on her head from Sango was enough to calm her.  
  
"It's okay Kirara. He'll take good care of me." Sango guaranteed her faithful companion. Miroku beamed proudly. "If he doesn't, then I give you permission to tear him apart." Miroku laughed nervously, not sure if she was joking or not. He knelt down in front of her and he was once again carrying her on his back.  
  
"Are you comfortable?" He asked once they were underway. Kaede, Shippou, and Kirara were well ahead of them, Kirara's pace being much quicker than Miroku's.  
  
"Yes, thank you Houshi-sama." Sango looked up at the sky and noticed that it was dark and overcast. "Too bad that the day is not as beautiful as it was yesterday."  
  
"It's all a matter of perspective." Miroku answered. He turned his face toward her as best as he could. "I think today is just as beautiful as it was yesterday, or even more beautiful." He smirked at Sango and turned away just as she was beginning to turn red.  
  
"Houshi-sama, you can be a real sweet-talker when you want to be." Sango sighed and put her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Then, will you bear my child?" He asked hopefully, rubbing her leg.  
  
*SMACK*  
  
"See what I mean. When you want to be." Miroku was rubbing his head where a large lump was beginning to form.  
  
"No matter what, it's always worth it." Miroku smiled. He stopped when a drop of water hit his nose.   
  
"It's starting to rain." Sango stared up at the sky. "Just what we needed."  
  
"Hurry up you guys!" Shippou yelled from up ahead. We have to get back before it gets any worse!" Almost as if on cue, a streak of lightning flashed over-head followed by a loud rumble of thunder. Rain began to pour down from the skies and Miroku ran ahead to catch up with Kirara.  
  
"It'll be impossible to get home with this kind of weather Kaede-sama." Miroku yelled over the thunder. "We'll all get sick if we don't find some shelter."  
  
"I agree. It will become impossible to see anything with all this rain soon as well." Kaede said, straining her eyes to see in the distance. "Head for those mountains. There must be a cave we can take refuge in." They all made their way deeper into the forest and soon found the rocky walls of the mountains. Sure enough, they found a cave that would suit their needs.  
  
"This will be a good place to stay until the rain lets up." Miroku said in between breaths. Running with a person on his back was much harder than Inuyasha made it seem.  
  
"Shouldn't we check to see if there are any demons in here?" Sango asked cautiously. "Kirara, go check deeper into the cave and make sure there's nothing here." Once Kaede, Shippou, and the luggage was off of her, Kirara made her way into the cave.  
  
"In the meanwhile, we should get a fire going. I have a feeling we'll be staying here a while." Kaede said, staring at the gray sky. They found some dry firewood by the cave entrance and made themselves comfortable. They were all a little wet, but soon the fire had them all dry. Kirara made her way back to the group and transformed back into her small form. She snuggled into Sango's lap and mewed contentedly.  
  
"I take it we have nothing to worry about." Sango said, petting her small friend. Kirara nodded her head groggily and was soon asleep. Sango's eyes were beginning to droop as well when she felt someone wrap a blanket around her.  
  
"No use getting you back to the village to heal if you catch a pneumonia and die anyway." Miroku said jokingly, sitting next to her.  
  
"Thank you for the comfort Houshi-sama." Sango laughed. She had to admit that she wasn't so worried about getting back anymore. She stiffened as she felt Miroku's arm wrap around her, but she relaxed once she saw the look in his eyes. It wasn't a perverted gesture, but a caring one.  
  
"Go ahead and fall asleep." He said looking her in the eyes. "I'll stay up and protect you from any harm." Sango's eyes glossed over with tears, but she nodded at him and smiled. She put her head on his shoulder once again and closed her eyes. She was more exhausted than she thought and soon she was drifting off to sleep.  
  
"Thank you...Miroku." She whispered.  
  
"Hmm?" Miroku looked at her, surprised that she used his name. "Sleep well Sango."  
  
~*~Back to Kagome~*~   
  
"Alright class! Pencils down!" Kagome furiously bubbled in some final answers on her answer sheet and let her pencil drop on her desk. Her math teacher walked around the class and collected the tests.  
  
"I'm glad that's over." Kagome sighed and relaxed in her chair.  
  
"Very good class. I have to go to the computer and grade these tests now, but an office assistant will be here to watch you. All of you know how to behave, so keep the noise level down. A bell will ring 10 minutes before the final bell so that you may all go see your scores." The door opened and a nicely dressed man walked in. "Well, I'll leave you then class. Behave because I'll know if you don't." The teacher gave the man some final directions and walked out.  
  
"How'd you do Kaome?" Yuka asked once the teacher was gone.  
  
"I don't know. I don't want to jinx myself." Kagome forced herself to smile cheerfully. 'I must have guessed on most of those problems.' She thought sadly in her head.  
  
"Don't worry girls, we probably did fine." Eri said, upbeat like always. Kagome was looking out of the window, trying to see if she caught any sign of Inuyasha.  
  
'He probably fell asleep.' She thought and smiled to herself. She could hear the babble of her friends in the background, but their conversation didn't matter very much to her at that moment.  
  
"Hello? Kagome?" Ayumi called, but there was no reply. It wasn't until she waved her hand in front of her face that Kagome snapped out of her trance.  
  
"Huh? What, what's going on?" Kagome asked, startled by the interruption.  
  
"You're really out of it Kagome." Ayumi said. "I asked if you were busy after school. We were thinking of celebrating the end of midterms."  
  
"Sorry, I can't." Kagome searched her mind for an excuse. "I have to help my grandpa with shrine preparations. There's a...um... important event coming up soon and we have to prepare." Kagome lied.  
  
"Oh, that's too bad." Yuka said. "I guess having a shrine is a lot of work." The four girls talked until the end of class when a bell rang. Outside in the tree, Inuyahsa almost fell out when he heard the bell rang. He had indeed fallen asleep because he was so bored, but the bell startled him out of his sleep.  
  
"Is that the end of school?" Inuyasha peered out of the tree and looked at the front gate. No one had left, so he figured that school wasn't over. He looked into the window where Kagome had been and realized that she wasn't there anymore. "Huh? When the hell did that happen?" He sniffed the air and caught her scent a short distance away. Being careful to keep out of sight, he jumped from tree to tree until he was in a location where he could see her. Kagome, meanwhile, was trying to get through the crowd of people to see her scores.  
  
"Come on, excuse me, sorry." She finally pushed her way through the people and saw all of her scores. She sighed in relief when she saw that all of them were high scores and that she really had nothing to worry about.  
  
"Wow Kagome, you got great scores!" Eri said as she found Kagome in the mob of people.  
  
"Their nothing compared to yours Eri." Kagome smiled at her friend. "I'm just glad that this is all over."  
  
"Are you sure that you can't come with us to celebrate Kagome?" Yuka asked as the four girls found each other in the crowd.  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure." She answered as thoughts of Inuyasha cam into her head. "I promise we'll do something together next time." She finished saying just as the bell rang. Everyone cleared out of the school, happy to leave after such a stressful day. Kagome was going to meet Inuyasha at the tree where she had told him to wait when a familiar voice stopped her.  
  
"Higurashi-san!" She turned around and was face to face with Hojo.  
  
"Oh, Hojo-kun." Kagome saw some movement in a tree behind Hojo and was horrified when she saw a pair of amber eyes glaring angrily at the unsuspecting boy.  
  
"Congratulations on the test scores! You did really well." Hojo said, patting Kagome on the back. Was that a grumble she heard...?  
  
"Oh, thank you Hojo. You did well too." Kagome hadn't even seen his scores, but she was desparate to get rid of the clueless boy before an angry hanyou tried to rip him apart.  
  
"I'm really glad you've been here these past days. You're sick all of the time and I never get to see you." He added a little sadly. "Are you busy today?" An audible growl could be heard from the tree and the pair of amber eyes flashed threateningly. Kagome had to act quickly.  
  
"Actually I am really busy. Um...I have to go get something I forgot in class, so I better go." Kagome tried her best to sound nice, but she was getting impatient.  
  
"Alright Higurashi-san." Hojo smiled. "Congratulations again." He said, this time giving her a quick hug. Kagome was taken aback by the gesture, but she had no time to think about that. The leaves on the tree rustled and Kagome did what she knew she had to do to save Hojo.  
  
"OSUWARI!" Inuyasha was surprised as he fell from mid-air attack position down to the bushes at the foot of the tree.  
  
"What was that?" Hojo asked, confused.  
  
"Um...nothing. I...uh...sneezed. Well, see you later Hojo-kun." She ran off to where she had seen Inuyasha fall. Hojo left the school grounds, oblivious to the whole situation like always.  
  
"Who.Was.That?!" Kagome heard Inuyasha say before she had even reached him. He sat up in the bushes, leaves sticking out of his long hair and smudges of dirt on his face. He was trying very hard to control his temper, but Kagome could clearly see that he was pissed off.  
  
"It's just a classmate Inuyasha." Kagome tried to say as calmly as she could. She didn't want Inuyasha to have any reason to feel threatened.  
  
"Well then, what was he doing hugging you!" Inuyasha yelled as Kagome tried to help him up.  
  
"He was just congratulating me because I did so well on my tests!" Kagome yelled back. "Inuyasha, you have absolutely no reason to worry about anything." She added in calmly as he began to pout and turn away. "Look at me Inuyasha." She said turning his face in her direction. "You're the only one I love, and I don't love anyone the way I love you." Inuyasha's face softened and he held her in his arms.  
  
"I know Kagome, but it was hard to stay calm when I saw the way he was looking at you." Inuyasha added.   
  
"Don't worry Inuyasha. Next time I see him I'll make it clear to him that I love someone else." Kagome promised, but inside she wondered how she would accomplish that, considering how dense Hojo was.  
  
"Alright, well let's go." Inuyasha said, satisfied with Kagome's reply. "We have to get everything together before we return with everyone else. Get on my back, it's the quickest way." Kagome climbed on Inuyasha's back and was soon rushing through the rooftops of the city. Before she knew it, she was back at the shrine.  
  
"How did the midterms go honey?" Mrs. Higurashi asked as they made their way inside.  
  
"Fine Mama. I got A's on all of them." Kagome answered proudly. "I'm going to be leaving soon, so would you mind making an early dinner for Inuyasha and I?" Kagome asked.  
  
"Well, I had thought this would happen and the food will be done in 20 minutes." Mrs. Higurashi answered her amazed daughter. "That should give you enough time to pack."  
  
"Thanks Mama! You're the best." She made her way up to her room with Inuyasha in tow. As soon as she got in, she grabbed her travel backpack and began to stuff it with various supplies.  
  
"Your Mom's so weird." Inuyasha said as Kagome scrambled around the room. "She has some sort of sixth sense, not that that's bad." He added as he thought of all the delicious food he would be eating soon.  
  
"I know. Hey, do you think I should take this umbrella?" She asked emerging from the closet with the small pink baton. Inuyasha recognized it from before and answered.  
  
"Nah! It's spring over there. There's no rain." Kagome shrugged her shoulders and put the umbrella back in the closet. She had packed in the usual supplies (first aid kit, brush, hair spray, toothbrush, etc.), extra clothes, her pajamas, and at the last minute an extra warm and fuzzy blanket.  
  
"Why are you packing that?" Inuyasha eyed the blanket that she was trying to stuff into the backpack. "It's just going to take up room."  
  
"I know, but I'm tired of sleeping on the hard floor all the time. I want some sort of comfort and warmth at night." She answered, finally managing to close the large bag.  
  
"That's what I'm for now." Inuyasha said putting his arms around her shoulders from behind. Kagome smiled and gave him a kiss.  
  
"Hmm...don't get your hopes up just yet." She teased him. Come on, lets go eat so we can leave." It was only a matter of time before they were both done eating and it was time to leave. Despite their efforts to leave early, the sun was already going down when it was time to go. They were soon standing in front of the well saying good-bye to everyone, surrounded by bags on the floor.  
  
"Be careful and come back soon." Mrs. Higurashi said as Inuyasha picked up the various bags.  
  
"Thanks for all of the food Mama! You think of everything." She said as she gave her mother a hug and a kiss. "Be good Souta and take care of everything while I'm gone."  
  
"Okay Onee-chan." He turned to Inuyasha. "Thanks for helping me Inu-oniichan. Come back and visit soon!"  
  
"See you later kid." Inuyasha answered, mussing up the young boys hair. "Thanks for everything." He yelled and jumped in. Kagome waved farewell and soon joined him. To her dismay, she found herself standing in a puddle of water when she arrived in Sengoku Jidai.  
  
"What happened to no rain in spring?" Kagome asked as drops started to accumulate in her hair. Luckily, it wasn't a downpour, only a light and steady rain.  
  
"Ever heard of spring showers?" Inuyasha offered as an explanation. "Hop on my back. I'll get us to the hut before we can really get wet, just hold on." Kagome did as she was told and they were soon out of the well and were headed to Kaede's hut at high speeds. They soon made it to the village only to find that there was no light coming from the hut. They went inside and Kagome climbed off of Inuyasha's back.  
  
"Hello? Kaede-obaachan? Sango-chan? Miroku-sama?" No one answered as they made their way inside.   
  
"Oh well, I guess the rain must have delayed them." Inuyasha stated. "Let's get a fire going." He walked to the corner of the house where they kept the dry wood and soon the light of the fire blazed in the hut. While Kagome put some things away, he sat in front of the fire to take the dampness out of his haori.  
  
"This clothes is too wet for me." Kagome finally said when she had set everything up. "I'm going to change into my pajamas and slippers." She went into another part of the hut and soon emerged in her dry clothing. She sat down and snuggled into Inuyasha, who was now dry and warm from the roaring fire. He put his arm around her and they sat in silence for a while. It wasn't until Kagome's head began to droop in exhaustion that Inuyasha spoke.  
  
"Are you tired?" He asked drawing her closer.  
  
"Yeah, I guess school took a lot out of me these past few days." She answered, waking up a little from her drowsiness. She shivered as a wind blew in some cold air from a draft in the hut.  
  
"Lets go to sleep then." Inuyasha picked her up in his arms and carried her over to one of the mats on the floor that had her sleeping bag on it. He set her down and walked over to her backpack. He pulled out the large blanket and lay down next to her, wrapping the enormous blanket around them both.  
  
"This feels so nice." Kagome snuggled into Inuyasha as he wrapped his arms around her. "Everything just feels right. I don't know why it took so long for this to happen." She said, giving Inuyasha a deep and romantic kiss.  
  
"All that matters is that it did happen." Inuyasha answered her as they pulled apart. "Now close your eyes and rest Kagome."  
  
"Good-night Inuyasha." She gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too, my Kagome." He held her close to him as the soft rain lulled them both to sleep, warm in each others arms.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Well, that's chapter 3. I'm soooooo sorry about the delay guys. I wanted to have this out much sooner, but I just didn't have the time. I promise the next chapter, which will probably be the last, will be out soon to make up for the delay of this one. Just remember to read and review. Good reviews always make me want to finish the chapter faster. See you later guys! 


	4. Come Together

Wow! It's been a while since I've updated this story. I'm REALLY, REALLY sorry guys, but I was having more than a bit of trouble in my personal life. I was suffering through some major writer's block and I had to deal with moving to another state. Nothing depresses you quicker than leaving all of your friends and your current life behind. -.- Thankfully, everything's okay now, and here is the final chapter to my story! I want to thank everyone that has supported me with this story. You guys rock! Well, remember as always to read, review, and enjoy. ^_^  
  
~*~Chapter 4~*~  
  
As the early rays of light illuminated the earth around her, Sango began to stir and wake from her sleep. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust and to realize where she was exactly. She was lying on the floor with a blanket wrapped warmly around her. Curled up next to her were Shippou and Kirara, while Kaede was in another corner of the cave with her own blanket. When she looked outside she could see that the ground was still very wet. Tiny drops of water sparkled on the leaves of the trees and everything smelled fresh and new around her. It was still very early. The sun was barely poking up from the horizon.  
  
"Good morning, sunshine." Came a familiar voice. Sango blushed as she caught sight of Miroku walking into the cave with many fruits and berries. He had never addressed her like that before...  
  
"Good morning." Sango replied, hiding her face from him. She didn't want him to know that his small comment had made such a big effect on her.   
  
"Look! I found some breakfast for us out in the woods. The rain made everything really fresh and fragrant, so it was easy to find the food." Miroku said smiling, very proud of his accomplishment.  
  
"Yeah." Sango said smiling back at him. She remembered everything that he had done during the trip so far and decided that some thanks were in order. "Umm...well, I want to say thank you for all you've done for me during this trip. I mean, you've carried me on your back and last night you stayed up and took care of all of us. Thank you." A small tinge of red crept onto Sango's face as she finished her statement. Miroku grinned.  
  
"It was nothing. You know I'd do anything for the group...for you." He added in as a afterthought. "I'm just glad that we're finally going to be able to take you home and treat your injury." Sango smiled widely.  
  
"Thank you Houshi-sama." She whispered.  
  
"Not again with the formality!" Miroku said playfully. "I thought we had made a breakthrough last night." Sango thought for a moment and then vaguely remembered calling him Miroku the night before.  
  
"Well, I was tired, that's all." Sango blushed again. She never meant to call him by his name. Calling him 'Houshi-sama' was always a method Sango used to not get too close to him. She didn't like feeling emotionally vulnerable, although it was becoming harder to keep that fluttery feeling out of her stomach around Miroku lately.  
  
"Oh, I see." Miroku's face fell a little, and Sango immediately wished she hadn't said that. Why did she always drive him away?! She knew she didn't mean what she said half of the time. She took a deep breath and braced herself.  
  
"I don't mean it like that.......Miroku." He looked back at her, his eyes open a little in surprise. "Do you really want me to stop calling you 'Houshi-sama'?" Miroku knelt down next to her and took her hands into his own.  
  
"Nothing would make me happier Sango." The fluttery feeling in Sango's stomach came back stronger than ever as she sat there staring straight into Miroku's eyes. She was so lost in his gaze that she didn't even notice that slowly their heads were inching closer and closer together. She was surprised when she found that her lips were pressed softly against Miroku's, and that instead of his usual antics, he was being very tender. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the moment, against all of the protests that had been in her head before. Almost as soon as the moment had come, it had passed. She was left once again staring deeply into Miroku's eyes.  
  
"Okay you two lovebirds, that's enough for today." Sango quickly pulled away from Miroku as Kaede made her way to them. She turned beet red and looked at the ground, embarassed at being caught in such a romantic situation. Miroku, however, looked quite unabashed. In fact, his grin seemed to grow wider than before.  
  
"Are we going to get an early start Kaede-sama?" Miroku asked the old Miko as she gathered her belongings from the floor of the cave.   
  
"Yes, we need to get back and heal Sango. It isn't good to let an injury stay such a long time without proper treatment." She walked over to Kirara and Shippou, nudging them both awake gently. "Come on you two, it's time to get a move on." Miroku helped Kaede rouse the two small demons awake and load everything onto Kirara. He made sure they were safely on their way before he turned back to Sango.  
  
"Ready to go?" He asked, kneeling in front of her. Putting aside the feelings of embarassment from before, she was once again on Miroku's back as they made their way back to the village. They walked in silence for a while. Sango was appreciating the beauty that the storm had left behind. The air was delightfully refreshing and Sango was enjoying everything.  
  
"Hou-Miroku." Sango began. "I want to ask you a serious question, so no perverted answers or laughing at me, understood?"  
  
"Go ahead Sango." Miroku's voice held no hint of sarcasm or dishonesty. "Ask me anything you want." Sango took a deep breath. Miroku had flirted with her before, but never the way that he had during this trip. He awoke a lot of emotions in her that she had tried to keep hidden, and now she wanted to know what was really happening. She couldn't leave things as they stood...  
  
"Miroku, do you really love me, or am I just someone you're using to make the time pass?" Miroku stopped in his tracks, surprised at the inquiry. He didn't think that she would be so direct in her approach and he was caught off-guard. He went over to a near-by rock and set Sango down on it cautiously. When she was securely seated, he got down on his knees and looked her straight in the eyes.  
  
"Contrary to whatever I may do Sango, I do love you. I know that some of the things that I do are not always proper..." Sango gave him a questionable look. "Okay, okay. Most of the things that I do are not always proper, BUT I only love you Sango. Shortly after I first met you, I knew you were the only one for me."  
  
"Well then, why do you act the way you do?" Asked Sango, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. Miroku quickly wiped one away that was threatening to stream down her cheek.  
  
"In case you hadn't noticed." Miroku said, smiling coyly. "You've never reacted positively to any of my advances. I would sometimes doubt if I wasn't wasting my time." Sango laughed.  
  
"Your advances? Is that what you call rubbing my legs or my butt any chance you get?" Miroku turned a shade of red, embarassment creeping over his face.  
  
"Well...I never said that I was very traditional in my ways of showing affection." He said, the shade of red slowly draining from his face. "So, do you believe me?" Sango looked at Miroku's face, and for the first time since she had met him, there was complete honesty and sincerity in his face. He looked very different, and Sango thought she could even see some hope, hope of not being turned down or rejected at his most vulnerable moment.  
  
"Yes. Yes, I do believe you." She reached across and embraced Miroku. "I believe you with all my heart." Miroku closed his eyes, and returned the embrace. He sighed in relief, and when they parted, he gave her a slight kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Well then, come on. We better hurry up before they start worrying about us." Miroku placed Sango on his back once more, and the two walked away, Sango with her head on Miroku's shoulder, and Miroku holding her tighter than ever.  
  
~*~Back in the Village~*~   
  
Kagome rolled over to her side in her sleep, searching for something that was missing with her hand. Her eyes still closed, she sat up from her position on the floor. She rubbed her eyes and opened them. It was still very early in the morning, the sun was barely coming up over the horizon. It took her a while to remember that she was back in Kaede's hut, and that she was no longer in her world. She looked to her side and realized what was missing. Inuyasha was nowhere in sight.   
  
"Where could he have gone?" She asked herself, trying to stifle a yawn, to no avail. She shivered a little. It ws no longer raining, but the dampness from the night before lingered in the house, making it very cold. She found her slippers and went over to the door, looking out all around her. "Inuyasha!" She was shivering from the cold, and her voice didn't come out as strong as she would have wanted it to. "Inu......ah-choo!" Kagome sniffled and looked around once again.  
  
"You really are quite unreasonable Kagome." A voice came from near-by. Inuyasha was walking towards her, a bundle of wood carried neatly under one arm. You're gonna catch cold coming out like that." Kagome realized that she was wearing shorts and no jacket or sweater to keep her warm.  
  
"Well, I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." Kagome said, still sniffling. "I got worried when I woke up and you weren't next to me." Inuyasha put the bundle of wood down near the hut and went over to her. He put his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace.  
  
"You know I can take care of myself Kagome." He said, stroking her hair lovingly. "I think I would be more worried if I came back and found you were gone."  
  
"I know, it's just that this still feels like it's too good to be true." Kagome said, clutching Inuyasha tighter to her. "I don't want to wake up and find this happy feeling was all false. I don't ever want this feeling to go away."  
  
"It won't." Inuyasha said, now holding her at arms length. She stared into his amber eyes, now full of determination. "I won't ever leave your side, no matter what Kagome. I swear to you upon my life that this isn't false, and that this isn't all some dream." Kagome could have melted at his words. She found she was no longer cold at all, and that instead a warm ansd fuzzy feeling had come over her.  
  
"I know. I won't ever leave you either." Kagome finally managed to reply. They walked back into the hut and Kagome yawned loudly. "I guess I'm still tired." She said, chuckling to herself.  
  
"Go back to sleep." Inuyasha said as he led her back over to her bed. "You need more rest after all of that stuff you did at school." She was soon resting peacefully once again amid her blankets and bedding. Inuyasha walked away and sat against the wall. He closed his eyes and thought about everything that had happened. It was almost too much at once to think about. He smiled inwardly as he thought about the days he had spent alone with Kagome. He was startled when he felt something brush up against him and a blanket wrap over him as well.  
  
"Much better." Came Kagome's voice. She was sitting next to him against the wall, her head now resting on his shoulder. The blanket was wrapped comfortably around them both and Kagome was once again drifting off to sleep. For a split second, Inuyasha turned red. He looked at Kagome and remembered all of the awkward moments they had had before all of this happened. He put his arm around her and promptly fell asleep too.  
  
~*~Back to Sango and Miroku...~*~  
  
"Miroku, aren't you tired? I must be getting heavy by now!" Sango asked in a worried tone as the two made their way back to the village. A long time had passed since they first set out on their journey and they were near the village.  
  
"Nonsense! Why, you're as light as a feather!" Miroku replied, trying hard to keep the strain out of his voice. His statement was true, but after crossing so much land and going uphill most of the time, he was more than just a little tired.  
  
"Are you sure? Just stop for a minute and lets rest. I think my arm is starting to cramp up." Sango lied. She was feeling fine, but she wanted Miroku to stop and take a breather. Her lie had worked like a charm. Miroku stopped at the next clearing and put her down gently, as if she were made of glass. Sango wasn't used to such gentle treatment, especially from Miroku, but she wasn't going to complain.  
  
"Here, let me see your arm Sango." Miroku said as he sat down next to her. Sango offered him one of her arms, and he began to massage it tenderly, relaxing her completely. She was glad she had lied. Her arm felt great, and she closed her eyes enjoying the rub-down. She felt Miroku's hands make their way up to her shoulders, and soon she was getting the best back rub she had ever had in her life.  
  
"Mmmmm..." Sango exhaled as she felt every muscle in her body relax further. Miroku had pulled her hair out of the way and was delicately rubbing her neck. She tensed up a little when she felt him place a soft kiss on her neck, but she soon relaxed as he continued to massage her. She still had her eyes closed when he stopped abruptly. She opened her eyes to find herself almost nose to nose with Miroku. She gasped, startled by his proximity.  
  
"So does your arm feel better now?" He asked, a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"Much better now, thank you." Sango replied, trying to keep the red out of her face. They remained like this for a while until Sango decided to do something she never would have dreamed of. She held his face in her hands and rubbed his cheek a little with her thumb. His eyes opened a little in amazement, but he didn't have any time to say anything or react before she had placed a long and sensual kiss on his lips. She let herself enjoy every moment of it, finally releasing all of the pent up emotions for Miroku that were inside of her. When they finally parted, Miroku opened his eyes and looked stunned.  
  
"Wow." Was all he could mutter. He was dumbstruck at her sudden show of affection. She had made the first move for the kiss...  
  
"Shouldn't we get going?" Sango asked, as he sat there staring at her.  
  
"Um...yeah, yeah, of course." Miroku answered distractedly as he stood up. "We shouldn't keep Kaede-sama waiting." They were soon on their way again, but circumstances had changed a little bit. Instead of Miroku harassing Sango, it was now the other way around! Sango was doing little things to tease Miroku, and Miroku could feel the blood rising up to his face every time she did something.  
  
'I think I've corrupted her!' Miroku thought as they walked along.  
  
'Now I see what I've been missing all this time...' Thought Sango, as she teased Miroku's ponytail. They were about a mile off from the village, so Miroku decided to pick up the pace. He didn't know how much more blood could cram up to his face before it would explode. It was nice to finally be back to familiar sights and familar people. The local villagers that were awake were greeting them heartliy, and it really gave them a sense of being "home." Finally, the hut was in sight, but Miroku and Sango were confused. Instead of being inside and already getting breakfast started, Kaede was standing at the door of the hut with Shippou and Kirara at her heels. They seemed to be fixed in that position.  
  
"I wonder what's going on?" Miroku commented, as they approached the seemingly frozen trio. "Kaede-sama, wha-"  
  
"Shh!" Came the harsh reply from the old Miko. She merely pointed her finger inside the hut, and they finally knew what held them so transfixed. Inside, Inuyasha and Kagome were still asleep. They had moved from their position sitting against the wall and were now on the floor. Kagome was curled up very tightly against Inuyasha, and Inuyasha had his arms wrapped protectively around her. Both of them had a joyful look on their face and seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.   
  
"Well, well, well..." Miroku whispered. "Leave a few days and look what we come home to." He chuckled as Sango squirmed on his back to get a better look at the whole situation.  
  
"Looks like you two weren't the only ones up to something these past few days." Kaede said. She laughed quietly as the pair turned a deep shade of red. "Must be spring fever..." Shippou looked at Kaede in confusion.  
  
"Fever? Isn't that dangerous Kaede-baba?" He asked innocently.  
  
"I'll explain it all to you when you get older." Kaede answered, shaking her head slightly. Kirara was very uninterested in the whole affair and mewed loudly to let everyone know that she was hungry. At this, Inuyasha's ears twitched and he opened his eyes.  
  
"Good morning Inuyasha." Miroku began, a sly tone in his voice. "Did you have a good night?" Inuyasha looked around groggily, taking in all of his surroundings. Miroku was carrying Sango on his back. Kaede, Shippou, and Kirara were standing at the doorway looking at him, an odd expression on their faces. He was lying on the floor. He had just woken up, and in his arms he was holding...  
  
"Good *yawn* morning!" Kagome said to Inuyasha, stretching. She saw a look of horror on Inuyasha's face and wondered what was wrong. She turned to where he was looking. It took her a second to interpret what she was seeing. As soon as she realized that they were all staring at her, and that she was in a blanket with Inuyasha, all of the color drained from her face and she sank back down to the floor slowly.  
  
"Kagome!" Shippou yelled running over to her. "What's wrong Kagome?! I don't get it!!"  
  
~*~An Hour Later, With Kagome Revived and Healthy~*~  
  
"I can't believe you guys saw us like that..." Kagome said, trailing off. "I'm so embarassed."  
  
"It's okay Kagome-chan! There's nothing to be embarassed about. You told us what happened and we believe you." Sango said. Her ankle was now in a splint and a strong smell of herbs came from a bandage wrapped around it.   
  
"Yeah. Besides, it's about time you two got together." Miroku added, taking a sip from a cup of tea Kaede had made for him. "I was beginning to wonder what was taking you so long."  
  
"Well, they're not the only ones that took a long time to get together, eh?" Kaede remarked, calmly sipping a cup of tea as well.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha asked, eyeing Sango and Miroku questionably.  
  
"Well, er..." Was all Miroku managed to get out.  
  
"Did something happen between you two?!!!" Kagome practically yelled, little stars in her eyes. She took their embarassed silence as confirmation. "Wow! That is so amazing!! I can't believe it! How did it all happen?"  
  
"We-we'll talk later." Sango finally managed to get out. "You have a lot to tell me too." She said looking at her and Inuyasha, who was sitting next to Kagome and looking away, trying to hide the red hue that was now spreading across his face.   
  
"Agreed." Kagome answered, smiling at her friend. It was close to lunch time now and everyone was really hungry. Thankfully, Kagome had food, as usual. Soon, everyone except Kaede, who was busy tending to some of the villagers, was sitting outside and having a very nice picnic.  
  
"Would you pass me some ramen, Miroku?" Sango asked, as they were eating. Kagome almost choked on her food.  
  
"'Miroku?!'" She said between gasps. "Oh, that's right. Well, that's going to take some getting used to. No more Houshi-sama, right Sango?"  
  
"That's right." Miroku answered when Sango couldn't bring herself to. He put his arm around her and smiled when she leaned into him.  
  
"Hey Kagome! How did your tests go anyway?" Shippou asked, drawing the attention away from Miroku and Sango, much to their relief.  
  
"Oh yeah! I got top marks in all of my classes." Kagome said beaming widely at everyone.   
  
"That's great Kagome!" Shippou answered, although he really didn't know what that meant too much.  
  
"Well what else would you expect from my woman?" Inuyasha stated simply. "I-uh mean, from Kagome." Inuyasha corrected himself quickly after seeing the expression on Kagome's face. He tried to get Kagome's hand, but she promptly pulled it away.  
  
"Of course, I probably would have done a lot better if someone hadn't gone to distract me." Kagome said, a playful smile on her lips.   
  
"Hey!" Inuyasha said, and indignant look on his face.  
  
"I never said that was a bad thing, did I?" She smiled and put her hand on top of his. Everyone laughed, and even Inuyasha formed something that looked like a smile. One thing was for sure: Everyone still had a long way to go before Naraku was defeated and no one really knew what was going to happen after that, but they were going to enjoy everything in the present and not think too far ahead into future. They would face any problems as they came, one day at a time.  
  
~*~The End~*~  
  
Well guys, once again I want to thank you for reading my story. I want to apologize again for taking so long with the final chapter. It took a while to get me motivated and finally finish working on this. Sorry guys. Well, I think that's it for this story. 4 chapters is the longest I've ever made any story! Thanks again everyone! You guys are the best. 


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